Not too long ago, Canada – the United States’ neighbor to the north – introduced its respective continent to the first ever bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). The product has experienced solid popularity in this short period and is now valued at more than $1 billion in total assets.

A Bitcoin ETF Is Truly as Popular as They Said It Would Be

This past year’s cryptocurrency boom has arguably caused many people to swiftly jump into the cryptocurrency space. It has also made the idea of a bitcoin ETF more attractive than ever, but sadly the product has been the subject of controversy for many years. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been rather slow to approve of such a product, believing the volatility associated with bitcoin and other forms of crypto to be too risky for clients.

This has caused a serious problem in the U.S. given that it has now lost its position as the globe’s number one financial innovator. Many companies – from Bitwise to Van Eck – spent many years submitting applications to the agency believing that they could potentially be the first to garner a greenlight on such a product. Everyone was throwing their hat into the ring at some point, though they all wound up getting unsoundly rejected or pulling the plug on their own applications given how long the SEC was taking in cementing any decisions. Thus, the magic of bitcoin hadn’t quite worked.

Now, the U.S. has fallen behind somewhat, and while it could have easily been the country to unveil the first bitcoin ETF, Canada beat it to the punch. This lack of an open mind has ultimately caused the country to slip and fall in recent weeks as Canada has upped the ante by introducing two separate bitcoin-based ETFs, as well as one based on Ethereum.

Figures like Hester Pierce of the SEC – who is often dubbed the “Crypto Mom” given her loose stance on digital currency regulations – have stated in the past that the agency was wrong to have taken such a strict approach. With bitcoin reaching more than $60,000 twice over the past two months alone, the idea is that bitcoin is not only here to stay but has also attracted a fair number of investors who now view the asset as a hedge tool that can perhaps keep one’s wealth safe during times of economic strife.

The BTC Space Continues to Expand

At the time of writing, Canada’s Purpose bitcoin ETF – marked with the ticker BTCC – is managing approximately $1.1 billion in assets. The product saw as much as $165 million in digital funds traded during its first day on the market. Since then, more than 4,000 individual BTC units have been added to its list of managed tokens.

Bitcoin also rose sharply on Tuesday prior to the debut of Coinbase’s stock listing on the Nasdaq.

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