21Shares Lists ETP Products ETHFI and ZCASH in Paris and Amsterdam

Key Facts

21Shares announced on September 22, 2026, that it had launched exchange-traded products providing exposure to ETHFI and Zcash through conventional brokerage accounts. The first is the 21shares ether.fi ETP, trading under ETHFI, and the second is the 21shares Zcash ETP, trading under ZCASH. The company said both products are physically backed by their respective tokens, meaning each security’s structure holds the cryptoasset on which it is based. Both were listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris and became available through European brokerage platforms and financial institutions on the announcement date. The verified development is therefore the addition of 2 crypto-exposure instruments to established European markets, not a demonstrated jump in token liquidity or the exchange operator’s shares.

The ETHFI product carries ISIN CH1608218819, while the ZCASH product carries ISIN CH1608218801. 21Shares set an annual product fee of 2.50% for each instrument, a charge that reduces holding returns relative to the underlying asset’s performance before fees. The Paris listings trade in euros, while the Amsterdam listings trade in dollars. That configuration lets an investor select an execution venue and trading currency suited to the account, but it does not change the cryptoasset to which the instrument provides exposure. Brokerage charges and bid-ask spreads remain separate from the product fee, so the 2.50% rate alone does not capture the full cost of a position.

An ETP acts as a financial wrapper between a securities account and the cryptoasset. The investor buys a security issued by 21Shares rather than purchasing ETHFI or Zcash directly and transferring the tokens to a private wallet. The product structure holds the tokens with institutional custodians, while the ETP appears in the brokerage account like another listed security. This mechanism transmits exposure to the direction of the underlying asset’s price, but it does not give the holder direct ownership of the tokens or their private keys. Operational convenience therefore comes with an additional layer of product fees, structural risk, custody risk and execution risk, while leaving the cryptoasset’s volatility intact.

The ETHFI product provides exposure to the native governance and utility token of the ether.fi ecosystem, according to 21Shares. Its product page says the ETP is physically backed by ETHFI tokens and records an inception date of September 21, 2026. The security is sensitive to ETHFI because the value of its underlying collateral moves with the token, while the product fee and trading costs affect the return received by the investor. The security is not an equity interest in an ether.fi company, and commercial progress across the protocol does not automatically guarantee a return for holders. Investors must therefore separate the ecosystem’s growth thesis from the narrower question of whether expected ETHFI performance compensates for fees, volatility and execution risk.

The ZCASH product similarly provides price exposure to Zcash through a security physically backed by the underlying asset, with an inception date of September 21, 2026. 21Shares describes Zcash as combining a monetary design capped at 21 million coins with optional shielded transactions that conceal selected transfer data. The product thesis is consequently tied to demand for optional financial privacy as well as to movements in the broader crypto market. Holding ZCASH does not give the investor the coin itself or the ability to use its network features; it provides financial exposure to the coin’s price through a listed security. The product page also acknowledges that Zcash is smaller and less liquid than Bitcoin and that changing regulatory attitudes toward privacy technology could affect accessibility.

The products have more in common commercially than they do structurally: they share an issuer, venues, a 2.50% fee and the brokerage-account distribution channel. Their decisive difference is the underlying asset, with ETHFI linked to the economics of the ether.fi ecosystem and ZCASH linked to Zcash’s price and optional-privacy thesis. An investor can execute in euros in Paris or dollars in Amsterdam, but the quotation currency does not turn the underlying token risk into conventional cash exposure. Dual listings also do not automatically guarantee equal order-book depth or tight spreads; those features must be established from actual trading data. Comparing the quoted price with net asset value and the execution spread is therefore more useful than assuming that listing alone improves liquidity.

The product pages identify several eligible institutional custodians and list BitGo as the current custody provider in their service-provider information. This arrangement reduces the operational burden of managing private keys personally, but replaces it with reliance on the issuer, custodian and legal structure of the ETP. 21Shares also states that ETP exposure is not direct token ownership and that both approaches remain exposed to the risk of significant loss. The launch notice describes crypto exchange-traded products as complex and high risk and directs investors to the offering documents and final terms. “Physically backed” should therefore not be read as capital protection; it describes how the security is collateralized and does not guarantee the token’s value or trading liquidity.

For a long holder, the primary post-listing driver is the underlying token’s performance after the 2.50% fee and execution costs, not the movement of Euronext shares or ERNXY. For a prospective buyer, the instrument provides a route through a familiar brokerage account, but the decision remains a trade-off between operational convenience, wrapper cost and asset risk. A bearish investor cannot assume that short selling is available merely because the security is listed; that depends on borrow availability, broker rules and actual liquidity. The launch alone also does not demonstrate strong institutional demand because the announcement supplied no post-listing flow or trading-volume figures. Stronger evidence will come from asset growth, continued market-making and trading prices that remain close to asset value, all of which must be assessed separately for each product.

21Shares said both products became available through European brokerage platforms and financial institutions from September 22, 2026. Sustained adoption would be supported by asset growth, executable volume and stable spreads, while thin trading or persistent deviations from collateral value would weaken it. Investors should also monitor amendments to final terms, custody arrangements or broker availability because those elements determine access and operating cost. Until such evidence emerges, the story is the launch of 2 new exposure instruments; it does not support claims that ETHFI or Zcash liquidity has risen or that an ERNXY move was caused by the listings.