21Shares has launched physically backed exchange-traded products tracking Zcash and ether.fi across Euronext Paris and Amsterdam, extending regulated European access to ZEC weeks after Grayscale introduced a U.S.-listed Zcash ETF.
Summary
- 21Shares launched physically backed Zcash and ether.fi ETPs on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam this week.
- Both products charge 2.5% annual fees and hold their respective underlying crypto assets with custodians.
- ZCASH gives brokerage investors ZEC exposure without requiring them to manage private keys or custody.
- Grayscale’s ZCSH began NYSE Arca trading in August and received a $100 million DCG investment.
- Zcash traded above $1,500 Wednesday after gaining more than 30% during the previous seven days.
21Shares announced the two products on Sept. 22, identifying them as the 21Shares Zcash ETP, ticker ZCASH, and the 21Shares ether.fi ETP, ticker ETHFI. Both carry annual product fees of 2.5% and trade in euros in Paris and U.S. dollars in Amsterdam.
The issuer’s product pages list Sept. 21 as the inception date for both securities. Each product began with 5,000 securities outstanding, while early reported assets under management stood near $100,000 apiece.
21Shares Zcash ETP gives investors physically backed ZEC exposure
The Zcash product uses ISIN CH1608218801 and provides indirect exposure to ZEC through a traditional brokerage account. Unlike buying Zcash directly, investors do not need to open a crypto exchange account or manage private keys.
21Shares states that ZCASH is physically backed, meaning the product structure holds ZEC corresponding to the securities issued. Its documentation identifies institutional custody providers that can include Coinbase Custody, Zodia Custody, Anchorage Digital and BitGo entities, while the current key-information section names BitGo as custody provider.
The ETP does not give investors direct possession of the underlying ZEC. Investors own the exchange-traded security, while the crypto assets remain within the product’s custody structure.
Jasmin Muelhaupt, 21Shares’ director of financial product development, described Zcash as “something truly distinct,” citing its capped supply and optional privacy. Those comments represent the issuer’s investment case for the asset and do not guarantee future demand or price performance.
Zcash uses a proof-of-work network with a maximum supply of 21 million coins. Its shielded transactions allow users to conceal transaction information through zero-knowledge cryptography, although users can continue making transparent transactions.
21Shares said the privacy coin sector had grown nearly fivefold within one year, from approximately $6.2 billion to around $30 billion using the firm’s sector dataset. Its Sept. 22 research placed Zcash at roughly $20 billion in market capitalization when the analysis was prepared.
Independent market data had moved beyond that figure by the time the ETP arrived. CoinGecko showed ZEC trading above $1,500 on Sept. 23, with a market capitalization near $25 billion based on the previous day’s snapshot. The token had gained more than 30% over seven days and roughly 77% over 30 days at the latest reading.
Ether.fi ETP launches alongside the Zcash product
The second product, ETHFI, tracks the governance and utility token of ether.fi. It trades under ISIN CH1608218819 and uses the same 2.5% annual product fee as the Zcash ETP.
21Shares describes ETHFI as physically backed, with the underlying tokens held through institutional custodians. The product had approximately $99,600 in assets under management and 5,000 securities outstanding in the first published snapshot.
Ether.fi began primarily as a liquid restaking protocol before expanding into borrowing, swaps, payments and card services. The issuer said approximately $4.9 billion of assets sat on the platform in September, citing DeFiLlama data. That figure relates to ether.fi’s protocol and should not be confused with assets held by the new ETP.
Crypto.news previously covered ether.fi’s expansion into tokenized stocks, portfolio-backed loans and payment services in August. The platform said its products were designed around self-custodial accounts, borrowing and payments, while some services remain restricted by jurisdiction.
The ETHFI ETP gives investors price exposure to the token through a security listed on a conventional exchange. It does not represent ownership in ether.fi as a company, nor does it guarantee investors a share of protocol revenue.
European Zcash product follows Grayscale’s U.S. ETF
The European launch follows the Aug. 25 debut of Grayscale’s Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca under ticker ZCSH.
Grayscale converted its existing Zcash Trust into the first U.S.-listed Zcash ETF with direct ZEC exposure. The fund holds ZEC and seeks to track the value of its holdings after fees and expenses.
NYSE Arca formally certified the fund for listing on Aug. 24. Grayscale then changed the trust’s name to The Zcash ETF before trading began under ZCSH.
A later SEC filing showed that Digital Currency Group invested approximately $100 million in the ETF on Sept. 8. DCG exchanged 85,705.32563297 ZEC through an authorized participant for ETF shares.
The transaction followed earlier discussions involving roughly 200,000 ZEC, but the final investment used fewer coins after ZEC’s price increased. DCG is Grayscale’s corporate parent, making the transaction an affiliated investment rather than independent third-party inflow.
The European and U.S. vehicles use different legal structures. 21Shares explains that European single-asset crypto products are structured as ETPs instead of conventional UCITS ETFs, while Grayscale’s product is registered in the United States as The Zcash ETF.
Grayscale schedules ZCSH share split for Sept. 30
Another change is already scheduled for the U.S. product. Grayscale announced a 3-for-1 forward split for ZCSH following the rise in ZEC and the fund’s share price.
Shareholders of record at the close of trading on Sept. 28 will receive two additional shares for every share they hold. Distribution is scheduled after the market closes on Sept. 29, and ZCSH is expected to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis before the Sept. 30 market open.
The split will not change the total value of an investor’s holding at the time it takes effect. Grayscale expects the net asset value per share to fall to approximately one-third of its pre-split level while the number of shares increases proportionally.
ZCSH will continue trading under the same ticker and CUSIP after the split. Grayscale has not announced a corresponding change to the fund’s underlying ZEC holdings as part of the corporate action.
For the European products, 21Shares has not announced an initial asset target or minimum fundraising threshold. ZCASH and ETHFI are available through brokers and financial institutions that provide access to the relevant Euronext markets, subject to local investor eligibility and platform availability.
