Investors who merely want the fiat gains can just buy the ETF and be safe from hacks, as when investing in any other asset on paper, but if people want to buy actual bitcoin, regulations won't ever protect the consumer, because that's just the nature of Bitcoin; it is easy to compromise and transactions cannot be reversed.
Either way, you're still trusting a custodian with your crypto. The risk of loss is still there. That's why self-custody is a must these days. Especially if you have large amounts of money invested into crypto. But not everyone is willing to do this. It's much easier to trust a company with your investment, than doing everything (managing and securing crypto funds) yourself.
I'd say insurance is a must to help bring confidence among skeptical investors (usually the wealthy like Warren Buffet) into this nascent industry. With tightening regulations, anything's possible. I'd expect Coinbase to last for a long time. After all, it's the custodian of choice for spot ETFs.
