If you have heard people say “Bitcoin is going mainstream,” then a big part of what made that possible is something called a crypto ETF. And it is simpler than it sounds.

ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund. Think of it as a basket of investments packaged into a single product that trades on a stock exchange just like any regular stock.

A crypto ETF applies that same concept to digital assets, giving investors exposure to crypto prices through their regular brokerage accounts. No wallets, no crypto exchanges, no need to understand how blockchain works.

But here is the critical distinction: owning a crypto ETF is not the same as owning crypto. You cannot use it to make payments or move it to a wallet. You do not control the…