The U.S. exchange-traded fund, or ETF, industry underwent a significant transformation on Jan. 10, marking a pivotal day for cryptocurrency investors.

On that day, the SEC approved the launch of 11 new spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. These ETFs differ from their predecessors by holding Bitcoin directly as their underlying assets, instead of relying on futures contracts.

This direct approach allows for a cash-only creation process, wherein investors purchase shares of the ETF, and in response, the ETF acquires an equivalent value of Bitcoin, ensuring that the investment is backed by physical Bitcoin holdings.

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This innovation has greatly simplified cryptocurrency investment for the average investor, eliminating the need for self-custody of digital assets or the use of a cryptocurrency exchange. Now, investors can gain exposure to Bitcoin through a familiar stock-like instrument tradable within most brokerage accounts.

"Crypto ETFs are essentially funds that track the price of a select individual cryptocurrency or even a group of cryptocurrencies," says Brandon Zemp, CEO of BlockHash. "They are generally low-cost, more diversified and require no real need to understand how crypto self-custody works, making them a simpler way of gaining exposure to the crypto market."

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The adoption rate of these ETFs has been astonishing; for example, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (ticker: IBIT) has already amassed over $10 billion in assets under management, or AUM,........

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