Today, Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini) announced support for Zcash trading and custody. This marks only the third virtual commodity added to the Gemini platform, after bitcoin and ether. Gemini states that this “makes Gemini the first licensed Zcash exchange in the world,” and “NYDFS the first regulatory agency in the world to supervise Zcash.”

As a New York trust company, Gemini is, arguably, the most regulated digital asset exchange and custodian in the world. It is subject to rigorous regulatory oversight by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), is held to the highest level of fiduciary obligations and banking compliance standards, and must adhere to all anti-money laundering (AML) laws, know your customer (KYC) requirements, and consumer protections set forth by the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the New York Banking Law, and the NYDFS.

Gemini went through an extensive approval process with the NYDFS prior to adding support for Zcash. This process included an overview of the Zcash technology and a comprehensive plan that described Gemini’s ability to adequately meet any specific challenges posed by the addition of this new virtual commodity.

We at the Zcash Company believe that privacy and confidentiality are part of the foundation of an open and democratic society. Privacy supports societal values such as human rights, political freedom, financial inclusion, and economic opportunity. These are values that we share with the regulators of countries like USA and states like New York.

“Zcash picks up where Bitcoin left off,” Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini, said, adding “Bitcoin has many strengths, but privacy is not one of them.”

Cameron, President of Gemini, said “Bitcoin and Zcash are two revolutionary technologies vying for different mantles, Bitcoin being digital gold and Zcash being digital cash.”

The Gemini release also provides clarity on its plan for supporting shielded addresses. Gemini states, “At launch, Gemini will support deposits from unshielded or shielded addresses, but will only support withdrawals to unshielded addresses. We are working to support withdrawals to shielded addresses in the future.”

Gemini’s support for Zcash trading and custody furthers our mission to empower everyone with economic freedom and opportunity. Everyone needs access to platforms and tools that enable them to transact safely and securely. Gemini’s track record is a model for exchanges around the world and we are thrilled that they chose to offer Zcash to their users.

Update: The NYDFS has issued a statement on its authorization of Gemini to support Zcash: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/press/pr1805141.htm