European investors can now access Zcash through traditional brokerage accounts following the launch of a physically backed exchange-traded product (ETP) by 21Shares on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam. Although the issuer officially announced the listing on Sept. 22 amid an ongoing Zcash rally, the cryptocurrency’s upward price momentum was already underway before the product went live.
Trading under the ticker ZCASH, the ETP features a euro-denominated listing in Paris and a US dollar-denominated listing in Amsterdam, registered under ISIN CH1608218801. By holding actual ZEC within its structure, the investment vehicle offers direct price exposure, eliminating the need for investors to purchase or manage the digital tokens themselves. The product carries a 2.5% annual fee, exclusive of any additional brokerage fees. Unlike purchasing coins directly and managing them via private digital wallets, investors simply hold the listed security while the underlying ZEC remains in a custody structure. According to 21Shares, this marks the first Zcash ETP made available to the European market.
The timeline reveals a slight gap between the product’s inception and its public debut. While 21Shares lists Sept. 21 as the inception date, the official announcement was made on Sept. 22. By then, ZEC was already trading near $1,540 on Sept. 19, fueled by rising interest in Grayscale’s US-based Zcash ETF. Consequently, the new European ETP serves as a fresh entry point for an upward trend that was already well established.
On Sept. 23, Zcash reached a 24-hour peak of $1,651, before pulling back to approximately $1,487 at the time of writing.
Weekly activity climbs to multiyear highs
According to data from Messari, Zcash transfer volume surpassed $23 billion last week, marking its highest weekly level since 2021 and the second-largest on record. Because this metric tracks the total value moving across the blockchain, the $23 billion figure represents on-chain network activity rather than new capital flowing directly into ZEC or the newly launched ETP.
Meanwhile, the X account Zodl reported 62,379 shielded transactions over the same weekly period, the highest volume recorded since 2022. These shielded transactions obscure transaction details that are typically public on the blockchain. This metric tracks transaction counts rather than unique active users, and future weekly data will reveal whether this elevated level of privacy-focused activity can be sustained.
The launch of the European ETP alongside these dual network activity metrics provides market participants with new analytical tools to evaluate Zcash beyond simple price action. Moving forward, fluctuations in ZCASH’s assets under management will serve as a direct indicator of adoption among European brokerage users, with these various market signals unfolding over different timeframes as trading gets underway.
