Key facts
- Grayscale awarded $100,000 each to the Zcash Foundation, Pretty Good Policy for Zcash, Shielded Labs and Project Tachyon.
- Grayscale said it intends to reinvest all sponsor fees from ZCSH for up to its first year as an exchange-traded product.
- Grayscale said the commitment is voluntary and it can change or end it at any time.
- ZEC was down roughly 19% over 30 days and still up about 75% from a year ago, per CoinGecko.
- Perpetual futures open interest in Zcash stands at about $2.3 billion.
- Steve Vanourny, Grayscale's head of index, said financial privacy is becoming essential as more activity moves onchain.
Grayscale said on November 10, 2026 that it plans to direct $1 million to nonprofits and initiatives supporting the Zcash ecosystem, with $100,000 already awarded to each of four groups: the Zcash Foundation, policy group Pretty Good Policy for Zcash, Swiss-based Shielded Labs and Project Tachyon, a scaling effort led by one of Zcash's co-founders.
The funding comes from fees on The Zcash ETF, which trades under the ticker ZCSH. Grayscale said it intends to reinvest all sponsor fees it collects from the fund, for up to its first year as an exchange-traded product, into developing and marketing the network and educating people about it. The firm said the commitment is voluntary and it can change or end it at any time.
Grayscale also launched Zcash Invest, an educational website and social media presence, along with a national ad campaign, "Zcash: The Next Era of Crypto," which kicked off with a Wall Street Journal wrap. The ads will run in print, outdoor, digital, streaming and social channels, featuring a zebra motif drawn from the Zcash community.
"Financial privacy is becoming essential as more economic activity moves onchain and AI makes it easier to analyze," said Steve Vanourny, Grayscale's head of index.
The ETF listed on NYSE Arca in August, after a critical flaw in Zcash's shielded pool sent ZEC down about 50% just three months earlier, before a fix arrived in July. Grayscale later split the fund's shares to make them more affordable for investors seeking exposure to the privacy coin.