Zcash Tops $1,600 After 21Shares Launches European ETP
Zcash passes $1,600 as a new European product starts trading
Zcash (ZEC) crossed $1,600 for the first time since 2016, The Defiant reported on Sept. 23, 2026. The move came as 21Shares opened a new way for European brokerage customers to get exposure to ZEC.
The product is an exchange-traded product, or ETP. That is a listed investment product that trades on a stock exchange. This one is physically backed, meaning it holds the actual ZEC token rather than a derivative.
According to the report, the ETP gives investors access to ZEC without requiring them to buy and store the token themselves.
Key details of the listing and the price move
- 21Shares announced the physically backed Zcash ETP on Sept. 22, 2026.
- It trades on Euronext Paris in euros and on Euronext Amsterdam in U.S. dollars, under the ticker ZCASH.
- The product carries ISIN CH1608218801 and charges a 2.5% fee.
- The rally did not begin with the listing. The Defiant recorded a $1,383.30 intraday high on Coinbase on Sept. 16 and a price of $1,284.42 on Sept. 9.
- The report says the $1,600 level returned ZEC to prices last seen during its 2016 launch year.
What 21Shares said about the product
In its announcement, 21Shares called the product "the first Zcash ETP available to European investors."
The issuer said eligible customers can trade the product through brokerage platforms, with the underlying ZEC held by third-party custodians. That differs from the usual route, where an investor sets up a crypto exchange account or manages private keys.
Tracker puts shielded ZEC at 29% of supply
Zcash has a feature called shielded pools. These hide addresses, amounts and transaction graphs using zero-knowledge proofs, a method that lets a transaction be verified without revealing its details. The chain still publishes each pool's total balance, so the combined amount held in shielded pools can be measured even though transfers inside them stay private.
ZecStats, using CipherScan data, showed 4.91 million ZEC across the Sprout, Sapling, Orchard and Ironwood shielded pools at 3:42 p.m. ET. That was 29.0% of total supply.
The tracker notes that published percentages can differ depending on which pools are counted, whether the denominator is supply or transactions, and the time of the snapshot.
The same dashboard recorded 7,992 ZEC entering shielded pools and 13,086 ZEC leaving them over the preceding 24 hours, a net outflow of 5,094 ZEC.
What is confirmed
21Shares announced the ETP on Sept. 22, 2026, and gave the exchanges, ticker, ISIN and fee listed above. The Defiant reported that ZEC crossed $1,600 for the first time since 2016 and reported the earlier prices of $1,383.30 on Sept. 16 and $1,284.42 on Sept. 9.
What is still unclear
The report does not say exactly when ZEC crossed $1,600, nor does it establish that the listing caused the price move. The shielded-pool figure of 29% comes with the tracker's own warning that percentages can vary by method and snapshot time. The claim that this is the first Zcash ETP available to European investors comes from the issuer.
Why the listing matters for European investors
The main practical change described in the report is access. European investors who can use brokerage platforms may be able to gain ZEC exposure through a listed product instead of opening a crypto exchange account and holding the token themselves. In that structure, the ZEC is held by third-party custodians.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.