Grayscale just launched the first-ever Zcash [ZEC] ETF!

The debut came days after its 8-year high in token price, so will this development help the token soar further?

This is the first ETF offering direct exposure to ZEC.

The fund, trading under the ticker ZCSH on NYSE Arca, is a conversion of the existing Grayscale Zcash Trust. Instead of holding ZEC themselves, investors can now buy ETF shares through traditional brokerage accounts.

It’s an interesting time for a launch like this. The token just rallied massively, and the network itself has gone through major security upgrades.

This has to do with the discovery of a critical vulnerability in its privacy system earlier this year. Developers responded with the Ironwood upgrade to help the network’s security and accounting mechanisms.

Before converting it into an ETF, the Grayscale Zcash Trust had more than $313 million in AUM.

Grayscale has previously converted several of its crypto trusts into ETFs. This includes its Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] products, following its legal battle with the U.S. SEC over spot crypto ETFs.

Since then, the firm’s offerings have gone on to include Ripple’s XRP [XRP], Solana [SOL], and Litecoin [LTC] ETFs.

Ahead of the ETF entry, ZEC hit eight-year high near $867; up sharply from around $500 earlier in August. However, there has been some slowing down since, with the token at $822 at the time of writing.

ZEC futures open interest [OI] went up to above $1.2 billion, while funding rates stay positive. There is continued bullish positioning.

The next few sessions will be important in deciding whether the ETF launch can extend the rally, or if the recent surge was already priced in.

• Grayscale launched the first Zcash ETF, soon after ZEC hit an eight-year high.
• Traders are watching if ETF demand can help the next leg of the rally.