Euronext suspended CoinShares’ new Zcash exchange-traded product on Wednesday, preventing the security from beginning trading on Euronext Paris as planned because the post-trade infrastructure was not yet able to support standard settlement.
The product, trading under ticker ZCSH and ISIN GB00BNRRG954, was suspended until further notice on October 28. Euronext initially did not explain the reason, but later said the measure was strictly related to operational settlement requirements and would remain in place until standard settlement operations could be fully supported by the relevant Central Securities Depository. The exchange indicated there is no current evidence that the suspension reflects a regulatory decision against Zcash, CoinShares, or privacy-focused cryptocurrencies generally.
CoinShares had announced ZCSH earlier Wednesday as the latest product in its physically backed cryptocurrency range. The ETP is backed 100% by ZEC held in institutional custody, carries a 1.50% annual management fee, and was scheduled to trade in euros on Euronext Paris. However, Euronext said the post-trade settlement process could not yet be fully supported for ZCSH, and no new trading date has been announced.
The delayed launch comes about a month after 21Shares introduced Europe’s first Zcash ETP on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam. The 21Shares product is also physically backed but charges a higher 2.50% annual management fee. Other Zcash products have appeared in Sweden through Valour and Virtune, meaning CoinShares’ launch would have expanded an increasingly competitive European market for regulated ZEC exposure. Because the existing 21Shares product is already trading on Euronext, the suspension appears specific to the settlement arrangements supporting the new security rather than a blanket exchange prohibition on Zcash exposure.
CoinShares has been expanding distribution across its wider crypto-product franchise. Its Bitcoin and Ethereum securities were recently added to Hargreaves Lansdown, while the asset manager has also developed a UCITS platform aimed at institutional investors. The ZCSH episode illustrates that launching a crypto ETP depends not only on securing underlying assets and exchange admission, but also on custody, clearing and settlement systems being able to process the product reliably.
