How does one introduce the Ethereum blockchain to the masses? Two providers of digital-asset ETFs, VanEck and Bitwise, just launched advertisements that take a stab.

Why it matters: As more crypto assets get ETF wrappers, investment pros are increasingly shaping the narrative behind blockchain technology.

• Spot ether ETF filing revisions are landing today (sans fee information), with Bloomberg Intelligence analysts projecting a launch date of July 2.

Driving the news: Bitwise kicks off its ad campaign today, hitting TV networks CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business, as well as Reddit and YouTube.

The ad compares Big Finance to Crypto with human representations, a nod to Apple's "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads.

• An older man wearing a suit, a robe and a sleep mask goes to bed, while a younger-looking guy in a tee and jeans goes: "But it's 4 p.m."
• (Between the lines: 👆 That's when the stock market closes.)
• The tagline of the video is: "Unlike Big Finance, Ethereum doesn't clock out at 4 p.m."

Behind the scenes: Victoria Anderson, Bitwise's head of growth marketing, tells Axios that the ad was meant to "get people to think about what Ethereum's disrupting," and "highlight the blockchain's versatility."

• BTW the ad "Big Finance Sleeps" can be minted as an NFT on Zora.

VanEck's "Enter the Ether" ad, meanwhile, strikes for the ether-eal.

• The dreamy under-40-second video presents B-roll of things like a match igniting and a woman sitting in a tree.
• A voiceover says: "Could it be that art escapes its frame and music creates its own keys" and "What could Ethereum be?" (Yes, it rhymes.)

💭 Our thought bubble: One ad zooms in, and the other zooms out.

One focuses on the blockchain, but leaves the answer of "what it is" to the imagination, while the other pokes fun at how legacy financial systems operate relative to new ones.

• Both ads seem to be targeting a psychographic, less demographic (Read: retail investors).

The bottom line: Still doesn't beat the shock and awe of the World's Most Interesting Man shilling bitcoin.

Meme coin traders should mind the gap between bid-ask spreads on various crypto venues, lest they get wrecked.

• Pros usually do the math on the cost of trading, before they trade.

Why it matters: Meme coins with staying power, like dogecoin, are on various major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase and Kraken, but there are some places that offer better liquidity for certain coins over others.

By the numbers: Average bid-ask spreads for select meme coins on those exchanges over the last 30 days ended June 12, exceeded 2 basis points, or 0.02%, according to Kaiko.

• That suggests that cost of trading remains high, the research firm said in a report published this week, examining trading activity in U.S. dollar and USDT (Tether's stablecoin) trading pairs.

Zoom in: PEPE shows a wide spread, or about 8 basis points, on Binance, compared to Kraken's 3 basis points.

• BONK is more liquid on Binance relative to Kraken.
• DOGE showed tighter spreads on Coinbase and Kraken, but were the narrowest on Binance.

What we're watching: What's not charted here are spreads for celebrity coins like Iggy Azalea's MOTHER, nor ones purported to be politically affiliated like DJT, but trading those also comes with a cost.

Consensys' lawsuit against the SEC marches on as planned, though the agency said this week that it closed its investigation around Ethereum 2.0.

• "Consensys will press ahead with its lawsuit until we get the full relief we are seeking," the company's founder and chief, Joe Lubin, said in a statement sent to Axios yesterday.

Why it matters: It matters to Lubin and Consensys, because while the SEC closed its investigation of the blockchain, it hasn't necessarily backed off the firm developing software around it.

Behind the scenes: One SEC investigation has concluded: The one related to ether's status as a security post-Merge.

• But the SEC has not concluded investigations on alleged issues that led to the April Wells notice, according to Lubin. (Think MetaMask Swaps and MetaMask Staking.)

The bottom line: The SEC's letter to Consensys this week, Lubin said, "referred to boilerplate disclaimers, including that an investigation may be concluded based on the agency's 'workload considerations.'"

💭 Our thought bubble: Maybe the SEC's recent attrition will be beneficial to Consensys.

🤝 Standard Chartered PLC, a British bank, is setting up a trading desk for bitcoin and ether. (Bloomberg)

🇨🇦 Canada-based fund manager 3iQ has floated a Solana fund. (Decrypt)

🕵️‍♀️ The CFTC is said to be looking at market maker Jump Crypto. (Fortune)

📢 Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) visited Binance's Tigran Gambaryan in prison and called for his release. (CoinDesk)

😬 A civil lawsuit on a securities claim against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse will proceed to trial in federal court in California. (CoinDesk)

Crypto industry leaders are starting to throw their weight behind former president and likely GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Catch up quick: Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of the Gemini crypto exchange, announced yesterday that they donated bitcoin to the Trump campaign.

• Both said that they donated $1 million, or 15.47 BTC, to his campaign.
• Axios asked Gemini for clarification on whether the combined donation was $2 million; the exchange did not respond.

The intrigue: Gemini also announced that it'll facilitate crypto campaign donations for pro-crypto candidates.

Our thought bubble: ☝️ The double Trump donation is a giant ad for Gemini.

Behind the scenes: Trump has been meeting with crypto a lot lately — dinner with Messari's Ryan Selkis, meetings with bitcoin miners, and such.

Trump's cameo on the "All-In" podcast yesterday with Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg is landing with more crypto folks too.

• Sacks told Axios' Dan Primack last month at the BFD event in San Francisco that the "All-In" podcast appearance was a condition of him and Palihapitiya hosting a fundraiser. (Go to 2:54:36)
• The podcast has hosted Bobby Kennedy and Vivek Ramaswamy. Sacks also said that an invitation was extended to President Biden.