Zcash's Wall Street Moment Reaches Europe With Its First ETP Listing
21Shares launched Europe's first exchange-traded product for Zcash on Sept. 22, listing on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam under the ticker ZCASH with a 2.5% annual management fee. The physically backed ETP uses BitGo as custodian, launched with roughly $100,000 in assets and trades in euros in Paris and dollars in Amsterdam.
Why It Matters
The listing brings a privacy-focused cryptocurrency into European brokerage accounts without the need for direct custody, arriving as ZEC has seen dramatic price gains this year and after Grayscale converted its Zcash trust into an ETF in the U.S. The move signals growing institutional pathways to hold privacy coins through regulated products.
Key Facts
- Issuer: 21Shares
- Listing date: Sept. 22
- Exchanges: Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam
- Ticker: ZCASH
- Annual fee: 2.5%
21Shares this week introduced Europe's first Zcash exchange-traded product, listing the physically backed fund on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam on Sept. 22 under the ticker ZCASH. The product charges a 2.5% annual management fee and names BitGo as its institutional custodian. It trades in euros on the Paris market and in dollars on the Amsterdam venue. The ETP debuted alongside a companion product tracking ETHFI, the governance token of the restaking protocol ether.fi, both carrying the same fee and holding underlying tokens with custodians rather than tracking futures. On its first day the Zcash vehicle launched with 5,000 securities outstanding, a net asset value of $20.04 per unit and roughly $100,000 in assets under management, according to 21Shares' factsheet. Zcash is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency that preserves several Bitcoin-like features—its codebase, a 21 million coin cap, proof-of-work mining and a halving schedule—while adding optional shielded transactions that conceal senders, recipients and amounts. Coinholders recently voted 98.9% in favor of retaining the Bitcoin-style halving model. The token has been among the top performers this year, rising more than 2,700% year-to-date and pushing ZEC's market capitalization to about $27.5 billion, the ninth-largest among crypto assets. The listing followed Grayscale's conversion of its Zcash Trust into an ETF (ticker ZCSH) on NYSE Arca, which launched Aug. 25 and is scheduled to complete a 3-for-1 share split on Sept. 30. Grayscale's product has attracted more than $233 million in inflows and now holds close to $890 million in assets, underscoring institutional interest that 21Shares is seeking to serve in Europe. Market reaction to the European ETP was immediate: ZEC climbed to an intraday high near $1,680 before easing back to about $1,522, a roughly 6.6% decline from the peak within the same session. 21Shares positions the ETP as a convenience for investors who want Zcash exposure through traditional brokerage accounts without managing private keys or direct exchange custody, while the higher fee reflects the costs and risks of storing a privacy coin that institutional custodians handle less frequently than Bitcoin or Ether.