21Shares on Thursday launched the first U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking the Canton Network, a privacy-focused blockchain ecosystem that already settles trillions of dollars in institutional assets. The 21Shares Canton Network ETF, trading under the ticker TCAN on Nasdaq, provides regulated exposure to a network backed by firms like Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Visa.
"When you see names like Nasdaq, Moody’s, and Deloitte supporting a common blockchain infrastructure, you are looking at infrastructure that has the potential to reshape how data and capital move across global markets," said Andres Valencia, EVP of Investment Management at 21Shares. "With the launch of TCAN, we are providing the U.S. market with institutional-grade access to this transformation."
The fund carries a 0.50% expense ratio and holds the network's native token, Canton Coin (CC). While the ETF is new, the network's scale is not. Canton currently processes more than $350 billion in daily repurchase agreement volume, with Broadridge’s platform alone running over $6 trillion in monthly repo flow on the chain. The total value of real-world assets tokenized on Canton stands at $366.9 billion, placing it ahead of all other blockchains in RWA value.
The launch of TCAN creates an unusual market dynamic: a regulated investment vehicle for a crypto asset that is not yet available on major retail exchanges like Coinbase or Binance. This makes the ETF a primary entry point for U.S. investors, potentially accelerating price discovery for an asset deeply embedded in institutional finance but with limited public access. An upcoming catalyst is the planned Q2 2026 go-live of DTCC’s tokenized U.S. Treasury platform on Canton.
Despite its massive transaction volumes, Canton has been described as a "silent giant." Its focus on permissioned, institutional workflows has kept it out of the spotlight enjoyed by public chains like Ethereum and Solana. The network's throughput is modest, processing only five to seven transactions per second, a figure that reflects its focus on high-value, complex financial agreements rather than high-frequency retail transactions.
"What makes Canton different is not simply that institutions can hold digital assets onchain, but that they can coordinate real financial workflows across firms without giving up privacy, control, or compliance," said Georg Schneider, Global Head of RWA at Digital Asset, the network's original developer.
The decision by 21Shares to launch an ETF before the underlying Canton Coin (CC) secures listings on major centralized exchanges is a departure from the typical crypto ETF playbook. It gives U.S. investors a regulated wrapper without requiring direct custody of the token. According to CoinGecko data, CC was recently trading at $0.146 and has a market capitalization of $5.6 billion, ranking it 21st among all cryptocurrencies. The ETF structure could channel significant new demand into the asset as it broadens its investor base beyond institutions.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
