21Shares has rolled out a new set of exchange-traded products in Europe, bringing Zcash exposure to regulated Euronext markets and pairing it with a physically backed product tied to Ether.fi’s ETHFI token. The Zcash launch underscores how far privacy coins have traveled from niche infrastructure toward mainstream portfolio wrappers.

On Tuesday, the firm listed its physically backed Zcash ETP on both Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam, giving investors the ability to hold Zcash-linked exposure through brokerage accounts rather than managing the cryptocurrency directly.

Key takeaways

• 21Shares listed a physically backed Zcash ETP on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam, offering ZEC exposure in a traditional investment format.
• A second physically backed ETP tracks ETHFI, the governance and utility token of Ether.fi, trading on the same Euronext venues.
• Both products charge a 2.5% annual management fee, which is higher than many comparable European crypto ETPs.
• The timing aligns with strong Zcash performance, including a recent push above $1,500 and a large gain over the past year, according to CoinMarketCap data.
• US and European product expansion is building momentum, following the earlier launch of Grayscale’s Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca.

Physically backed Zcash enters the Euronext wrapper

With the new Zcash ETP, 21Shares is effectively translating ZEC ownership into an exchange-listed product. Instead of buying and safeguarding the coin themselves, investors can access the asset through regulated trading and standard brokerage infrastructure.

The ETP is described as physically backed, meaning the product is intended to be supported by underlying Zcash holdings rather than relying on derivatives-based exposure. That structure often appeals to investors who want direct asset linkage while avoiding custody and operational complexity.

ETHFI ETP also lands in Europe

Alongside the privacy-coin listing, 21Shares introduced an ETP tracking ETHFI, associated with Ether.fi—an ecosystem that supports staking and other crypto financial services. The ETHFI product, like the Zcash offering, is physically backed and trades on Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam.

For investors, the ETHFI ETP provides a similar “wrapper” experience for a token tied to a DeFi platform’s governance and utility. It also signals that ETP issuance in Europe is not limited to legacy assets such as bitcoin and ether, but is extending into tokenized access to active on-chain finance segments.

Fees: 2.5% puts both products above many peers

While the headline is new access via Euronext, the pricing details are equally important for potential buyers. Both the Zcash and ETHFI ETPs carry an annual management fee of 2.5%. The fee level stands out because it is well above what many Bitcoin– and Ether-linked investment products typically charge in Europe.

That higher fee can matter significantly for investors planning to hold over longer periods, especially in a market where alternative routes to crypto exposure—such as lower-fee ETPs or other regulated products—may be available. Investors evaluating either ETP may want to compare the total cost relative to their time horizon and expected volatility.

Zcash’s momentum revives “Bitcoin alternative” comparisons

The Euronext listing arrives during a period of renewed attention to Zcash’s market performance. The article notes that Zcash recently moved above $1,500 and was up nearly 1,100% over the past year, based on CoinMarketCap data.

That performance has also been feeding broader discussions about whether Zcash can serve as an alternative to bitcoin in certain narratives. Cointelegraph previously reported that Grayscale’s head of research, Zach Pandl, argued that Zcash could benefit from “second-mover advantages,” potentially helping it overcome Bitcoin’s entrenched network effects—an area where some earlier alternatives have struggled.

In practical terms, product listings like these often follow market interest. When an asset’s price action and institutional visibility rise together, it can create a feedback loop: regulated wrappers expand the investor base, and that expanded access can further boost attention.

Mining interest and institutional build-out

The Zcash story is not only about exchange-traded products. Mining activity has also been in focus. Cointelegraph reported that Fortitude Digital Mining said it mined about 28% of all ZEC produced in the first half of 2026, highlighting the scale of its operations on the network. The company tied its focus to Zcash’s proof-of-work model, its capped supply, and privacy features.

Meanwhile, Zcash’s move into regulated product structures is not confined to Europe. The source notes that the addition comes after the arrival of the Grayscale Zcash ETF in the United States, which trades on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH. Combined with this European rollout, the trend points to a widening institutional appetite for Zcash exposure—despite ongoing debates about how privacy-oriented assets fit into regulated finance.

Investors should watch how these ETPs trade after launch—particularly whether the relatively high 2.5% fee influences demand—and whether Zcash’s recent momentum persists alongside further product announcements in other jurisdictions.

Self-proclaimed ChatGPT “co-creator” Diogo Almeida is running a viral marketing campaign for a new AI model, Jev, based on his work on the OpenAI chatbot’s core function, Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF).

The problem is, he’s admitting that his own invention doesn’t work well.

Almeida’s new startup, TypeSafe, emerged this month with a $40 million seed round, and a slick pitch that claimed he’d solved a problem that created during his time working on ChatGPT: AI hallucinations. 

The pitch for its Jev model, however, is much less impressive and raises a few questions.

First of all, the claim that he “co-created ChatGPT” isn’t strictly true.

In fact, Almeida is the fourth of 20 listed authors on the 2022 InstructGPT paper that applied RLHF to language models. This was one research paper that ChatGPT engineers used while building the chatbot.

Relegating his role further, a footnote in that PDF marks Almeida as one of nine “primary” authors rather than a team lead.

Moreover, RLHF technology predates that paper by nearly five years and its foundational method came from six other researchers.

Infamous entertainers Logan and Jake Paul, who are now making PR stops at the Treasury and the Department of War, are also heavily invested in gambling, AI, drones, and defense contracts, according to the website for their venture capital fund, Anti Fund.

Their portfolio includes Anduril, OpenAI, SpaceX, Kela Technologies, Polymarket, and Flock, which calls into question why they were invited to the Treasury and spoke in front of troops at the Pentagon.

Investments keep the brothers quiet

While fellow YouTubers and YouTube channels such as Benn Jordan, Donut, oompaville, and TommyG have criticized Flock and exposed issues with its surveillance cameras, Jake and Logan — who hosts a weekly podcast called Impaulsive with nearly 5 million subscribers — have remained silent about the company and its disturbing practices.

Anti Fund also invested in Kela Technologies, an Israeli defense contractor that “integrates commercial and military systems.” This could be why the brothers have completely avoided discussing the ongoing Palestinian genocide.

Bitcoin (BTC) fluctuated around $86,000 on Tuesday as crude-oil prices hit their lowest levels in nearly three weeks.

Key points:

• Bitcoin consolidated at around $86,000 after hitting fresh 33-week highs on Monday.
• US president Donald Trump told the UN that a deal to end the war with Iran could come after November’s midterm elections.
• WTI crude oil dropped to near $89 per barrel, its lowest level since Nov. 4 before reversing toward $92.

Bitcoin tests strength of $86,000 support as oil drops under $90

Data from TradingView showed the volatility of BTC/USD cooling after Bitcoin hit $87,350 the day prior, its highest level since Jan. 29.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US stocks tracked sideways as US president Donald Trump took to the stage at the UN General Assembly in New York. In a speech to world leaders, Trump pledged to reach a deal to end the US-Iran war, but suggested that this might come after the US midterm elections in November.

“I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” he said.

WTI crude oil inched higher into the speech after falling as low as $89.16 per barrel, its lowest since Sept. 4. The drop was aided by reports that Saudi Arabia had reopened the East-West Pipeline, a key oil-supply route. Three anonymous sources referenced by Reuters said that it would take six to eight weeks for flows to reach full capacity.

CFDs on WTI crude oil four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Onchain metric points to end of bear-market accumulation

Commenting on Bitcoin’s current position, onchain analytics platform Glassnode noted a classic momentum indicator had returned above a key long-term trend line.

Related: Bitcoin adds to bull-market hopes as price metric prints fourth-ever bullish cross

Bitcoin’s market value to realized value (MVRV) ratio, which compares the book value of the BTC supply — its market cap —  to the cumulative price at which it last moved onchain, has now crossed above its 365-day moving average.

“This is the same cross that we saw in 2019 and 2023 at the beginning of each bull market,” Glassnode noted on X.

The MVRV ratio seeks to determine what Glassnode describes as “fair” value for the supply — whether it is trading at a premium or discount to the price last paid by investors. High MVRV values correspondingly reflect larger unrealized profits among wallets.

The ratio currently sits at 1.62, having increased from 1.19 on Aug. 16. It remains far from the 3.7 level that has traditionally marked the profitability zone for bull-market tops.

Bitcoin MVRV ratio chart. Source: Glassnode on X.com

Continuing, onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant eyed a breakout from a multi-month resistance level for the MVRV ratio’s 30-day moving average below 1.5. CryptoQuant concluded in a blog post that breaking above this level for the first time since January would mark the end of a lengthy investor accumulation phase.

CryptoQuant added that moving above the current 1.62 would “confirm the reversal of ongoing bear market,” bringing back Bitcoin’s all-time highs of $126,200 as a BTC price target.

Bitcoin MVRV ratio data (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant

Geo has launched a short-form video debate platform that turns opposing views into traceable claims, starting with whether crypto needs the CLARITY Act to succeed.

Geo said in a Sep. 22 announcement that its new product combines the viewing format of short-form video apps with a permanent record of each argument, source, and contradiction raised during a debate.

The company’s first published discussion centers on a question that has divided U.S. crypto companies and policy groups: Can the industry succeed without Congress passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act?

Geo does not take a position on the legislation. Instead, two participants argue opposite sides of the question while viewers decide who presented the stronger case.

How Geo Debates turns videos into searchable claims

Each Geo debate begins with one claim and pairs two people who disagree over it. Participants make four alternating statements across two timed rounds, with the complete exchange lasting about three and a half minutes.

While one participant speaks, the other person’s microphone remains muted. Geo then combines the recordings into one split-screen video, adds subtitles, and publishes the exchange in a vertical feed similar to the format used by TikTok.

Alongside watching the video, users can vote for the person who made the stronger argument. Individual claims are also available for further inspection, allowing viewers to examine the points behind each participant’s position instead of judging the discussion only from a short clip.

Once published, the debate becomes an entry in Geo’s knowledge graph. Each point raised during the exchange receives a separate record attributed to the person who made it, according to the company.

Users can later challenge those points in other debates, which lets one discussion lead to additional arguments. The system also links claims to available sources, evidence and contradictions, creating a record that remains accessible after the video leaves a user’s feed.

Geo founder Yaniv Tal compared the approach with his earlier work on The Graph, a blockchain data-indexing protocol designed to let developers query open networks.

“I spent years building The Graph so anyone could query open data instead of trusting a company’s API,” Tal said.

“Geo Debates is the same instinct, pointed at argument instead of data. You get a turn, you get a clock, and your mic is dead until it’s your turn again.”

Tal said the resulting record allows users to review an argument claim by claim and see which participant made each statement. Geo classifies points as factual claims or opinions but does not rule on whether either side is correct.

Why Geo chose the CLARITY Act for its first debate

Geo selected the CLARITY Act after the bill failed to clear a crucial procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Sep. 15.

The Senate’s official roll call recorded 49 votes in favor of cloture and 50 against, leaving the motion 11 votes short of the 60 needed to advance. Cloture would have opened formal debate on H.R. 3633 rather than passing the legislation into law.

As crypto.news previously reported, the House-approved proposal would establish a legal division of digital asset oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It also contains registration routes for crypto exchanges, brokers and dealers.

The failed vote exposed an existing split among industry executives. Supporters argue that legislation is needed to give U.S. companies rules that cannot easily change with a new administration, while critics say the industry can continue operating through agency guidance and rulemaking.

Former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo said federal regulators can still develop digital asset frameworks using their existing authority. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also called on the SEC and CFTC to move forward after Congress failed to act, while Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse urged both agencies to address the legislative gap.

Other industry participants maintain that only Congress can provide durable rules defining the agencies’ responsibilities. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson made a similar argument following the Senate vote, although they supported interim action by regulators.

The disagreement gives Geo a debate containing two clear positions without requiring the platform to endorse either one. According to the company, arguments over U.S. crypto regulation often become scattered across conference panels, social media posts and isolated video clips, leaving viewers without an organized record of the reasoning behind each position.

CLARITY Act negotiations have not formally ended

Although the cloture motion failed, H.R. 3633 remains on the Senate calendar. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis changed his vote to “no” for procedural reasons, preserving an avenue for the chamber to reconsider the motion.

Time remains a major obstacle. Before the vote, House Republican leaders had removed eight voting days from the September schedule, limiting the period available for the Senate to amend the measure and return it to the House. Earlier coverage of the calendar showed that the shortened schedule had already reduced the chances of completing the bill before the November midterm elections.

Sen. Ted Cruz described the proposal as “mostly dead” after the defeat, while Sen. John Kennedy said lawmakers could reconsider it during a lame-duck session. Any Senate amendments would require additional House approval before the bill could reach the president.

Democratic lawmakers have also left open the possibility of renewed talks. Seven senators — Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks and Catherine Cortez Masto — issued a joint statement saying the vote was “not the end” of efforts to pass digital asset market-structure rules.

The group said negotiations could continue around consumer protection, national security, financial stability and ethics provisions. Their attempt to revive CLARITY Act talks followed disagreements over restrictions involving public officials’ crypto interests and the treatment of stablecoin rewards.

Why the debate matters for U.S. crypto users

For American token holders and crypto businesses, the dispute concerns which federal agency would oversee different digital assets and trading platforms.

The CLARITY Act would place digital commodities mainly under the CFTC while leaving digital securities and investment-contract offerings with the SEC. Registration, customer asset protections, and rules for market intermediaries also form part of the proposal.

Without legislation, the SEC and CFTC can continue using their current powers, but agency rules cannot settle every question covered by a statute. The agencies also cannot independently create a permanent congressional division of jurisdiction between them.

Geo’s launch debate lets viewers compare the case for legislation with arguments favoring agency-led regulation. The platform records the participants’ positions, opens their individual points for further debate, and gives viewers a public vote on which side presented the stronger case.

Founded by Tal, who previously founded The Graph, Geo describes itself as a consumer knowledge network designed to preserve claims, sources, evidence, and contradictions. The company said its system labels statements as factual or opinion but does not independently decide whether a claim is true.