21Shares Launches Europe’s First Zcash ETP, Lists Ether.fi Product

21Shares, a European asset manager, has launched Europe’s first exchange-traded product backed by the privacy coin Zcash.

Cointelegraph reported on September 22 that 21Shares listed a spot Zcash ETP on Euronext exchanges in France and the Netherlands. The product allows investors to gain exposure to Zcash through traditional brokerage accounts without directly holding the token.

21Shares also launched an ETP tracking ETHFI, the governance and utility token of decentralized finance protocol Ether.fi, the same day. That product is also physically backed and trades on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam.

The two products each carry an annual management fee of 2.5%. That is higher than many Bitcoin and Ether investment products traded in Europe.

The listing follows the launch of Grayscale’s Zcash exchange-traded fund in the US. The ETF trades on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH.

Zcash-related investment products are appearing in both US and European markets, broadening institutional interest. According to CoinMarketCap, Zcash recently rose above $1,500 and has gained about 1,100% over the past year.

The sharp rally has also renewed attention on Zcash’s potential as an alternative to Bitcoin. Jack Pandl, Grayscale’s head of research, said Zcash may be able to overcome Bitcoin’s strong network effects by leveraging the advantages of being a later entrant.

Interest in Zcash is also rising in the mining industry. Fortitude Digital Mining said it produced about 28% of all Zcash mined in the first half of this year. The company cited Zcash’s proof-of-work model, limited total supply and privacy features as the main reasons for its focus on the token.