21Shares launched Zcash and Ether.fi ETP in Europe

On Tuesday, European asset management firm 21Shares launched the first physically-backed ETP tracking Zcash on the Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam exchanges, allowing investors to gain exposure to ZEC through brokerage accounts without directly holding the cryptocurrency. 21Shares also introduced an ETP tracking ETHFI, which is the governance and utility token of the decentralized finance protocol Ether.fi, providing crypto-financial services such as staking. Both ETPs are physically-backed with an annual management fee of 2.5%, higher than most Bitcoin and Ethereum investment products in Europe.

The launch of the Zcash ETP closely follows Grayscale's introduction of the Zcash ETF in the United States, which is listed on the NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH. Zcash has recently performed strongly, with prices briefly surpassing $1500, and a nearly 1100% increase over the past year, leading to heightened market interest in it as an alternative to Bitcoin. Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl believes that Zcash may benefit from a "latecomer advantage," helping it overcome Bitcoin's entrenched network effects.

The popularity of Zcash has also spread to the mining sector. Fortitude Digital Mining told Cointelegraph that the company mined about 28% of the total ZEC in the first half of 2026, with its focus on Zcash based on the network's proof-of-work model, supply cap, and privacy features.