**Morgan Stanley** is expanding its digital asset offerings with the launch of exchange-traded products (ETPs) tracking **ether (ETH)** and **solana (SOL)**, following the success of its spot bitcoin fund. The new products, the **Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (MSSE)** and **Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL)**, began trading on NYSE Arca on Tuesday.

### Low Fees and Staking Rewards
Both funds charge a market-leading **0.14% expense ratio** – the lowest among competitors. Notably, a portion of the ether and SOL holdings will be **staked**, with any staking rewards passed directly to investors, not retained by Morgan Stanley. The funds track the **CoinDesk Ether Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate** and **CoinDesk Solana Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate**, providing exposure without direct token custody.

### Built-In Distribution Advantage
Morgan Stanley's wealth management business includes roughly **16,000 financial advisors** overseeing over **$9 trillion** in client assets. Combined with its ownership of **E*TRADE**, the firm has a direct line to millions of self-directed investors, giving these new ETPs a significant distribution edge.

### Growing Crypto ETP Market
The launch comes as large asset managers broaden their crypto offerings amid rising investor demand. Since the debut of spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, ether products have become well-established, and solana is emerging as the next competitive frontier. There are already **eight SOL exchange-traded funds** listed, with total net assets of **$889.3 million**.

### Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin Fund Success
The new products build on the **Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT)**, which debuted earlier this year and had gathered over **$381 million** in assets under management through July 16. The bitcoin fund tracks the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark Rate.

### Quote from Morgan Stanley
"Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important component of diversified investment portfolios," said **Amy Oldenburg**, head of digital asset strategy at Morgan Stanley. "As client interest in digital assets continues to grow, we're focused on providing a range of digital asset solutions that allow investors to diversify their portfolios across traditional and decentralized asset classes while also adhering to Morgan Stanley's standards for governance, infrastructure and risk management."

### Broader Industry Context
BlackRock, which owns the largest spot bitcoin ETF, recently launched its first crypto income ETF, reflecting growing client demand for steady income from long-term bitcoin investments. This trend underscores the **institutional adoption** of cryptocurrencies as a mainstream asset class.

The asset manager is offering low-cost ETH and SOL exchange-traded products after its bitcoin fund topped $381 million in assets.

Morgan Stanley Launches Ether and Solana Trusts After Bitcoin Fund Success – A New Era for Crypto ETPs?

Live updates from the crypto market show **bitcoin rising above $65,000** as oil tumbles on Iran war cooldown, while **ether leads altcoins higher**.

## Oil Plunges 6% as Iran War Cools

President Trump is giving diplomacy "some space," said Mike Waltz, D.C.'s ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday. WTI crude oil is down nearly 7% to $83.14 per barrel, and Brent crude is down similarly. In turn, U.S. stock index futures are on the rise, led by the Nasdaq 100's 1.35% gain. Interest rates have ticked lower by a couple of basis points. **Bitcoin is higher by 1.1% to $65,150**, with ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) both outperforming, up closer to 2%-3%.

## Ether Leads Crypto Higher as Bitcoin Holds as the Market's Defensive Anchor

CoinEx's Jeff Ko sees **bitcoin staying range-bound near $65,000** while retreating oil, a 4.7% 10-year yield and a week of mega-cap earnings set the tone. The bigger swing factor is corporate: Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon all report this week, and Ko said their free cash flow and AI-spending guidance could move Treasury yields and the Nasdaq, indirectly shaping the liquidity that flows into crypto. Ko added that the composition of ETF flows will matter as much as the headline numbers.

## Ether-Bitcoin Ratio Hits Three-Month High

The **ether-bitcoin ratio has risen to 0.03**, the highest since late April, according to TradingView. The pair is hovering above its 200-day simple moving average for the first time since January and has gained over 20% since the sell-off ran out of steam on June 6. This sustained ether outperformance could be a sign of an impending altcoin boom. However, as of this writing, BTC remains the most dominant token, accounting for 59% of the total crypto market.

## Strategy Raises Cash, Buys Back STRC Stock

Strategy (MSTR) last week boosted its so-called USD Reserve by $525 million to $3.75 billion. The company raised $544.5 million via sales of more than 5.4 million shares of common stock. A small portion of that fresh money — $25 million — was used to repurchase 288,930 shares of its high-yielding STRC preferred stock. The company made no changes to bitcoin holdings, which remain at 843,755 coins. MSTR is higher by 2.8% pre-market alongside a small rise in the price of bitcoin over the weekend. STRC is up 2.45%.

## Saylor: Intend to Continue Buying STRC Under $100

Strategy Executive Chairman **Michael Saylor** commented on this morning's disclosure that his company repurchased $25 million worth of its preferred stock STRC last week. "We intend to remain a regular, disciplined buyer of STRC below $100," said Saylor. "More at deeper discounts, less as STRC nears $100. Another $975M remains available for our prefs." MSTR is up 6.1% early Monday and STRC is up 2.3% to $88.90.

## Tom Lee's Bitmine Immersion Added Nearly 10,000 ETH Tokens Last Week

Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) added 9,946 of ether (ETH) tokens last week, bringing total holdings to 5,787,414 tokens. The company also repurchased more common stock. "We increased our equity buyback as we view the rising ETH/BTC ratio, despite the falling odds of passage of the Clarity Act in 2026, as a sign crypto prices are strengthening," said Chairman Tom Lee. BMNR is higher by 4.9% pre-market as ETH has risen about 3% over the past 24 hours.

## Strive's Bitcoin Holdings Rise to 20,000

Bitcoin treasury company Strive (ASST) disclosed the purchase of 79 bitcoin last week, bringing total holdings to 20,000. The company also added 808 shares of Strategy's STRC, bringing holdings of that preferred stock to 43,879 shares.

## Over $1 Million in Stablecoins Drained in Separate WEMIX and Garden Finance Incidents

Layer-1 blockchain **WEMIX** and decentralized finance protocol **Garden Finance** paused services after separate security incidents on Sunday moved at least $1.17 million in stablecoins. An attacker compromised ownership of a WEMIX$-related contract and issued about 5.23 million tokens without authorization. Separately, Blockaid said about $450,000 in USDT was drained from Garden Finance's hash time-locked contracts across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and BNB Chain. Garden said its contracts were not compromised and attributed the incident to a breach of an independent solver's off-chain database.

## SpaceX Stock Falls, Market Prices AI Business at Zero

SpaceX has more than round-tripped its entire post-IPO run. The stock priced at $135 in mid-June, spiked to $225 in its first week, and now trades near $115. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said that if it slides to $100, investors would effectively be assigning zero or negative value to the company's AI business. He kept a $300 target. The company holds $1.2 billion worth of bitcoin as on Monday prices.

## China's Gold Imports Continue to Surge

China's purchases of gold increased for the third straight month in June, tallying approximately 173 tonnes, the highest since March 2024. Retail investors are also steadily accumulating gold through small, incremental purchases via bank-led savings plans. China has a strict ban on trading and mining of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins to prevent capital flight and financial fraud.

CoinEx's Jeff Ko sees bitcoin staying range-bound near $65,000 while retreating oil, a 4.7% 10-year yield and a week of mega-cap earnings set the tone.

Ether Surges, Bitcoin Holds $65K as Oil Plunges 6%: Key Crypto Market Updates

John Oliver returned to *Last Week Tonight* with a scathing takedown of Donald Trump's crypto dealings, calling the president **"flagrantly corrupt and compromised."** The episode focused on Trump's transformation from calling Bitcoin a "scam" to becoming **"the first crypto president"** after the industry poured money into his election campaign.

### Trump's Crypto Empire

In his first year back in office, Trump made over **$2.2 billion**, with **$1.4 billion** coming from his family's crypto ventures. Oliver highlighted two key schemes: **Trump memecoins** and **World Liberty Financial**.

### The Memecoin Pump and Dump

Trump launched his own memecoin, followed by Melania Trump's coin. Oliver described these as **"pump and dump schemes"** — spiking in value before crashing, with insiders selling at the peak. The coin once hit **$50 billion** in value but later crashed **92%** . Trump personally pocketed **$636 million** from the scheme, while **over 1 million buyers lost money**.

### World Liberty Financial: A Corruption Playground

Oliver exposed how Trump's crypto company, World Liberty Financial, became a vehicle for foreign influence. **Justin Sun**, the Chinese millionaire who ate a $6.2 million banana, invested **$75 million** in the company while under SEC investigation. After his investment, the SEC paused its probe and later settled. Similarly, a UAE royal linked to an investment firm poured money into Trump's company at the same time the UAE sought approval for advanced computer chips — which was granted after Biden-era restrictions.

### Regulatory Capture

Trump promised to fire the SEC chair who was tough on crypto, and followed through by appointing **Paul Atkins**, a pro-crypto replacement. This led to **60% of crypto enforcement cases** being eased. Trump is now pushing the **Clarity Act**, a bill that would move crypto regulation out of the SEC's hands, making these changes **"hard to undo."**

### Conclusion

Oliver concluded that any mention of Trump and crypto should imply **"some shady shit is likely going down."** The episode serves as a stark warning about the intersection of political power and unregulated digital assets.

The Last Week Tonight host focused on the ‘shady shit’ the US president has been involved in with regards to crypto

John Oliver Exposes Trump's 'Flagrantly Corrupt' Crypto Schemes: A $2.2 Billion Scandal

A PC modder known as **sunrise2209** shared a DIY RAM cooling hack on Reddit, crafting **copper pipe heatsinks** in about 45 minutes per stick to avoid spending roughly $20 on commercial versions. The build drew immediate pushback over **copper's conductivity** and the risk of short circuits, with commenters urging thermal insulating pads. It also revived a bigger question: **whether standard RAM needs extra cooling at stock settings**.

## Why DIY for RAM upgrades is gaining attention

PC hardware prices have a way of nudging people toward creativity. Lately, that’s showing up in small, practical projects shared in the corners of the internet where builders swap tips and cautionary tales. One recent example comes from a Reddit user who didn’t want to pay accessory markups just to keep a memory kit looking and running cooler.

On Reddit, sunrise2209 posted photos of a homemade solution for RAM cooling, built from repurposed copper pipe. The motivation was straightforward: commercial RAM heatsinks can run about $20, and if you already have tools and scrap material, that’s an easy line item to challenge. It’s also a reminder that “upgrade” doesn’t always mean buying new parts.

## How it works: Crafting copper heatsinks at home

The build itself was almost charmingly low-tech. Using basic hand tools, the creator cut, split, flattened, and shaped sections of copper pipe into plates sized to fit over RAM modules, then polished the surfaces for a clean finish. Per the post, the process took roughly 45 minutes per heatsink, which is a real time investment even before installation.

From a thermal standpoint, **copper is a strong choice** because it moves heat efficiently. From a maker standpoint, it’s also forgiving: you can bend it, file it, and iterate until the fit is right. That flexibility is part of the appeal, especially for PC builders used to tweaking airflow and cable routing for the last few degrees.

## The balance between risks and rewards

The comment section quickly split into admiration and alarm. **Copper conducts electricity** as well as heat, so bare metal near exposed contacts raises the specter of a short. The builder addressed that head-on, noting that the photos used old DDR2 test sticks, and that **thermal insulating pads** would be used to keep the copper from touching anything it shouldn’t.

That detail matters because DIY PC mods don’t fail gracefully. A poorly placed heatsink can turn into a motherboard-killing mistake the moment you hit the power button. It’s also why experienced builders tend to treat “looks cool” and “is safe” as separate checkboxes.

## Cost-saving creativity or unnecessary effort?

Then there’s the bigger question: **does standard RAM even need extra cooling?** Several commenters argued that at factory settings, most memory modules rarely run hot enough to justify elaborate heatsinks, especially in a case with decent airflow. Unless you’re pushing higher voltages and aggressive tuning, often associated with newer **DDR5 overclocking**, the practical gains can be modest.

Still, projects like this keep showing up for a reason. They’re a way to **stretch budgets**, learn by doing, and personalize a build without waiting for sales or dropping more cash. Even when performance benefits are debatable, the impulse to tinker feels very real right now.

DIY copper RAM heatsinks spark debate over safety, costs, and whether stock DDR5 memory needs extra cooling at all.

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