21Shares listed Europe's first Zcash exchange-traded product on Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam on September 22. The physically backed fund trades under the ticker ZCASH and charges a 2.5% annual management fee, significantly higher than most Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded products on the same exchanges.
The product holds underlying tokens with BitGo as institutional custodian. It launched with 5,000 securities outstanding, a net asset value of $20.04 per unit, and approximately $100,000 in assets under management on day one.
The European listing completes a wave of traditional financial market access for Zcash. Grayscale converted its nine-year-old Zcash Trust into the ZCSH ETF on NYSE Arca on August 25. Grayscale's fund has attracted more than $233 million and now holds close to $890 million in assets.
What the ETP Offers Investors
Zcash is a privacy coin that allows users to shield balances and transfers through optional shielded transactions that hide the sender, receiver, and amount. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are transparent by default, Zcash forks Bitcoin's code while adding privacy features.
The exchange-traded product removes operational complexity for investors seeking Zcash exposure. There is no need to open a crypto exchange account or manage private keys. Instead, investors can trade through their existing brokerage account, the same way they would stocks or bonds.
The higher fee reflects custody costs, as institutional custodians handle privacy coins less frequently than Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Recent Price Movement
ZEC spiked to an intraday high near $1,680 on Wednesday before sliding back to roughly $1,522, a pullback of about 6.6% on the session. Zcash's market cap sits near $27.5 billion, making it the ninth-largest among crypto assets.
21Shares also listed a companion product tracking ETHFI, the governance token of restaking protocol ether.fi, carrying the same 2.5% fee.
Grayscale's ZCSH completes a 3-for-1 share split on September 30.
