The price of the Zcash cryptocurrency ($ZEC) fell more than 8% in 24 hours. This came after the launch of the first spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for this coin in the US the day before, in anticipation of which it had grown 60% over the week.
On August 25, trading began on the NYSE Acra for the Zcash ETF under the ticker ZCSH from Grayscale. The fund was converted from the Grayscale Zcash Trust, created back in 2017. On the first day of trading, $ZEC ETF shares lost about 1.5% in price, according to Tradingview.
As of August 26, the fund, which uses Coinbase's custodial services, has assets under management of $304 million. The ETF holds approximately 388 thousand $ZEC.
In the week before the fund's launch, the price of $ZEC fluctuated around $500, but showed a sharp increase over the past weekend. The cryptocurrency, categorized as a privacy coin, reached an eight-year high on August 23, rising to $880 for the first time since 2018.
Following the ETF's debut, the coin's price rolled back. As of 13:00 Moscow time on August 26, Zcash is trading at around $790.
Ahead of the ETF launch, Grayscale stated that the timing for launching this fund was determined by emerging demand. The company expects the instrument to appeal to self-directed investors looking to invest in $ZEC through an existing brokerage account.
The launch of cryptocurrency ETFs in the US in early 2024 and the subsequent inflows of institutional capital into them were partly a catalyst for the market's growth over the following year and a half. Investors bought ETF shares, and their issuers purchased cryptocurrency to back them.
According to SoSoValue, the net asset value of US Bitcoin ETFs currently reaches nearly $100 billion. In Ethereum funds — about $15 billion.
"RBC-Crypto" does not provide investment advice; the material is published for informational purposes only. Cryptocurrency is a volatile asset that can lead to financial losses.
