Overview
- 21Shares introduced Europe's inaugural Zcash exchange-traded product on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam on September 22, trading under the ticker ZCASH with an annual fee of 2.5%.
- The ZEC price surged to an intraday peak of approximately $1,680 on Wednesday, before retracting to around $1,522, marking a decline of about 6.6% for the day.
- This European launch follows Grayscale's Zcash ETF (ZCSH), which debuted on August 25 on NYSE Arca and is set to undergo a 3-for-1 share split on September 30.
Zcash, a prominent player in the privacy coin sector, continues to capture attention from traditional investors. On September 22, 21Shares launched the first Zcash exchange-traded product on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam.
The fund, which is physically backed, trades as ZCASH and imposes a management fee of 2.5% annually, a figure notably higher than the fees associated with most Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs on the same exchanges.
Myriad: Predict Ethereum's next move Click here to share your insights.The listing coincided with the launch of a complementary product that tracks ETHFI, the governance token for the restaking protocol ether.fi, which also carries the same fee structure. Both products are backed by the underlying tokens held with institutional custodians, avoiding reliance on futures contracts, with BitGo named as the custodian for the Zcash product.
ZCASH is available for trading in euros in Paris and in dollars in Amsterdam. The fund launched with modest beginnings: 5,000 outstanding securities, a net asset value of $20.04 per unit, and approximately $100,000 in assets under management on its first day, as per 21Shares' factsheet.
Implications of the Zcash Product for Investors
Zcash is distinguished as a privacy coin, enabling users to conceal their balances and transactions, in contrast to mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are inherently transparent. ZEC has surged more than 2,700% this year, attracting investors seeking a "private Bitcoin" alternative.
For those looking to gain exposure to Zcash, the ETP simplifies the investment process, eliminating the need to navigate crypto exchanges or manage private keys—an often daunting task that can lead to irreversible loss of funds if mishandled. The ETP allows investors to trade Zcash through familiar brokerage accounts used for stocks or bonds.
This convenience comes at a higher cost than standard Bitcoin or Ethereum funds, and due to its physical backing, the fee also covers the custody of an asset that institutional custodians typically handle less frequently than BTC or ETH.
21Shares is banking on a regulated appetite for privacy-coin investments to justify this pricing strategy, mirroring the rationale that led Grayscale to convert its long-standing Zcash Trust into the ZCSH ETF on NYSE Arca in August.
While Zcash is built on Bitcoin's code, maintaining a cap of 21 million coins, proof-of-work mining, and a halving schedule, it incorporates optional shielded transactions to obscure the identities of senders, receivers, and amounts. Recently, 98.9% of coinholders voted to retain the Bitcoin-style halving model, a mechanism designed to control inflation over time—an aspect now accessible to European brokerage investors through this ETP as well.
Rising Interest in Privacy Coins
Throughout the past year, ZEC has experienced remarkable growth, and the ETP listing has further fueled this trend. The token surpassed $1,600, reached an intraday high of nearly $1,680 on Wednesday, before falling back to around $1,522—a decrease of approximately 6.6% on that day.
Despite this temporary dip, the overall sentiment surrounding ZEC appears to be bullish and potentially enduring.
Currently, ZEC's market capitalization is approximately $27.5 billion, ranking it as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, Grayscale's ZCSH has attracted over $233 million and currently holds nearly $890 million in assets, set to undergo its 3-for-1 share split on September 30.