In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Eli Ben-Sasson and Uri Kolodny to discuss Starkware and the ZK-rollup future. This episode is an absolute masterclass on scaling Ethereum using zero-knowledge proofs and a fractal architecture. We discuss the limits of L1 scaling, ZK vs Optimistic rollups, native L2 programming languages, Layer 3 applications and much more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (00:32) The Limits of L1 Scaling (05:30) Optimistic vs ZK Rollups (14:40) Why ZK Rollup...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 133
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, the Blockworks Research team takes over the pod! We start with a debate on the implications of ATOM 2.0 and USDC launching on Cosmos. Is ATOM no longer a meme coin? Does everything revolve around MEV? What opportunities does native USDC unlock for the Cosmos ecosystem? We then discuss the feasibility of reversible on-chain transactions, the next NFT catalyst and how Polygon is a relentless business development machine. Tune in for all of this and more!...
Sep 30, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 133
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Cooper Turley, aka Coopahtroopa, for a master class on music NFTs. We all listen to music every day, yet monetization for 99% of artists is abysmal. Coop explains how artists can leverage Web3 to maximize revenue, fan engagement and creativity. We explore how music NFTs work, why they have value, which artists should participate and how Web3 will revolutionize the music industry. Cooper is an absolute expert, you won't want to miss it! - -...
Sep 26, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 131
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason is joined by 0xpibblez and Westie from Blockworks Research to discuss this week's biggest stories. We start with the $160M Wintermute hack, Nasdaq's new custody offering and why pibblez is staying away from algo stablecoin governance tokens. We then discuss Arbitrum's white hat hacker, why the Cosmos ecosystem might start seeing more exploits, how DAOs should codify their cap tables and more! - - Timestamps (00:00) Introduction (00:38) Who The F*...
Sep 23, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 130
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Zaki Manian and Jack Zampolin to explore the past, present and future of the Cosmos ecosystem and tech stack. What are the advantages of application-specific chains? How will IBC and Interchain security shape the future of cross-chain interactions? What is ATOM 2.0? We discuss these questions and more in this Cosmos deep dive. - - Follow Zaki: https://twitter.com/zmanian Follow Jack: https://twitter.com/jackzampolin Follow Jason: https://t...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 129
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss the most anticipated event in crypto's history: the merge. It finally happened. How does the successful transition to PoS change ETH's narrative? Where will the market's attention shift next? How important is the ESG-friendly narrative? We also explore the Cosmos & multichain thesis, liquid staking derivative yields, the Doodle raise controversy and more! -- (00:00) Introduction (00:20) Happy Merge Day (12:06) Liquid Staking...
Sep 16, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 128
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Bill Barhydt, founder of Abra, to discuss the 80-year debt cycle, Bill's crypto thesis and the future of Web3 banking. We start with macro, Q4 predictions and the "big Fed pause". We then discuss Bill's BTC and ETH investment thesis and the concept of a Web3 bank. Tune in to the end, where Bill announces a new product that could shape the future of financial services. - - (00:00) Introduction (01:32) The 80-Year Debt Cycle & the Big Fed Pause (15...
Sep 12, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 127
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss the upcoming Ethereum merge and how to maximize your profit opportunity (warning: this is not financial advice). We also explore Coinbase's $1.6B Maker DAO proposal, Binance's BUSD announcement, value accrual frameworks, and more! - - (00:00) Intro (02:23) A Web3 CRM (04:48) How to Prep for the ETH merge (19:30) MakerDAO Proposal To Send $1.6B USDC to Coinbase Prime (27:24) Avalanche Ad (28:50) Coinbase Deal (36:16) Coinbase Bac...
Sep 09, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 126
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Mike are joined by Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix. This is one of my favorite episodes where we discuss why protocol fees are the next meta, the value of liquidity mining and token incentives, Synthetix's roadmap, protocol-specific stablecoins and much more! - - (00:00) Introduction (02:06) Protocol Revenue KPIs (10:40) Do open-source protocols have moats? (19:55) Airdrops, liquidity mining and attempts to grow TVL (28:00) Framing the cost of liquidity mi...
Sep 05, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 125
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss MakerDAO's end game. Maker is often called the backbone of DeFi and will have to choose if the protocol embraces regulation or maximizes decentralization. We explore Rune's recent proposal, Maker's two options and why we are bullish. We also discuss Michael Saylor's tax evasion lawsuit, the release of Arbitrum Nitro, the governance timelock debate and a new Aave proposal. -- (00:00) Introduction (02:36) Michael Saylor accused of...
Sep 02, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Blockworks just released a new podcast called Bell Curve! We're dropping the pilot episode here as we think you might want to add this podcast to the lineup. Season one of Bell Curve revolves around our DeFi credit boom thesis. Simply put, CeFi's implosion will create a DeFi credit boom that will bring new users and fixed-rate lending markets to DeFi. What products will be created? Who will be the users of these products? Where will capital flow first? These are a few of the questions we'll expl...
Aug 30, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 124
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Rebecca Rettig and Jake Chervinsky to discuss the state of crypto regulation. We explore what Tornado Cash sanctions mean for crypto, how to define decentralization, if tokens will be considered securities, Ethereum censorship, what to expect from future regulation and more! - - (00:00) Introduction (01:18) Tornado Cash Sanctions (16:09) Defining Decentralization (26:17) What Has Been Most Damaging to Crypto? (31:03) Do Regulators Understa...
Aug 29, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 123
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss how DAOs should fund protocol development, why liquidity providers aren't considered creditors, the future of staking derivatives, app vs protocol value capture and much more! - - Timestamps (00:00) Aave’s Retroactive Funding, Protocol Development and Web3 Consultants (17:52) Coinbase Announces a New Staking Derivative (25:55) The Fei Protocol Shutdown and Liquidity Providers as Creditors Debate (32:28) Avalanche Ad (33:56) The ...
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 122
The US Treasury's sanctions on Tornado Cash could go down as one of the most significant events in crypto's history. The implications and nuances are vast, so we've decided to do something a little different for today's episode. On August 12th, Jill Gunter and Michael Mosier from Espresso Systems hosted a Twitter Space on Tornado's sanctions, financial privacy and regulation. We've teamed up with Jill and Michael to share this epic conversation with a wider audience. This is a massive episode, a...
Aug 25, 2022•2 hr 49 min
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by two of MakerDAO's top contributors, monetsupply and Sam MacPherson, to discuss the future of MakerDAO and the DAI stablecoin. Highlights include: -- Is USDC an existential risk to MakerDAO? -- Why is Maker financing off-chain assets? -- How can DAI scale to become the de facto money of DeFi? Tune in to find out! -- (00:00) Introduction (00:18) How Big Of a Threat Are US Sanctions? (05:34) The Importance of Maker's PSM (11:30) What Is the Ideal Basket...
Aug 22, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 121
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason is joined by two of Blockworks' top research analysts, Dan Smith and Sam Martin, to discuss this week’s biggest stories. Highlights include: -- Is Sudoswap a zero to one moment for NFTs? -- Is Ethereum's censorship resistance compromised? -- Will anyone use ETH PoW post-merge? Tune in to find out! - - Timecodes: (00:00) Introduction (00:32) Ethereum's censorship risk, 3 potential outcomes (11:40) Will the ETH PoW chain have value? (15:42) FlashBo...
Aug 19, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 120
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Jake Brukhman, the founder and CEO of CoinFund, to explore the concept of crypto as a public good. We discuss: -- How crypto is a public good, and why that's important -- How public goods can monetize and accrue value -- How crypto will democratize public goods funding Tune in for these answers and more! - - Timestamps (00:00) Introduction (02:23) Defining Crypto's Value Proposition (07:17) Private vs Public vs Common Goods (13:59) Can Pub...
Aug 15, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 119
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss the US Treasury's sanctions on Tornado Cash, Circle freezing USDC transfers, the future of KYC DeFi and more. Show Highlights: -- How do privacy protocols work? -- Does this ban mean crypto isn't decentralized? -- How did Circle freeze the transfer of USDC tokens? -- Should DeFi protocols be worried? - - Timestamps (00:00) Introduction (07:28) Tornado Cash Sanctioned By The US Treasury (14:44) How Mixers And Privacy Tokens Work ...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 118
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santiago are joined by two crypto market experts, Jonah Van Bourg & Genia Mikhalchenko, to discuss the anatomy of a trade. An asset's price is derived from supply and demand, but who provides this liquidity, how are trades executed and what parties are involved? Tune in to find out & check out the highlights below! - The role of market makers - Why liquidity is the lifeblood of trading - How liquidity providers performed in the recent market crash - W...
Aug 08, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 117
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss the current market, angel investing, and the week's biggest news. Highlights include: - Santi's learnings from angel investing - Why this market is a great setup for investors - Santi explains why he's over-indexed on ETH - Over $195M stolen between the Slope and Nomad hack - Details on the newly launched Synapse chain - Should protocols vertically integrate or leverage composability - Magic Eden vs OpenSea - Coinbase & Blac...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Attend DAS, crypto and macro’s favorite institutional conference: http://digitalassetsummit.co/ Use code EMPIRE250 to get $250 off tickets (Only available this week!) -- In this episode of Empire, Jason and Mike are joined by Dan Matuszewski (CMS Holdings) & Avi Felman (GoldenTree). If you don't know these two names, don't forget them - two of the best traders and sources of alpha in crypto. This episode is one of my favorites yet; check out the highlights below: - Is macro crypto's master -...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 115
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi are joined by Brett Winton, the Director of Research at ARK invest. We discuss the heated Uniswap fee controversy, token business models, DAO governance and the securitization of everything. We also discuss ARK's unique investment strategy and crypto thesis. This is one special roundup. Highlights include: - How to play the current macro market - The securitization of everything - Coinbase's opportunity - Potential business models for U...
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 114
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Erik Voorhees, the founder of Shapeshift and OG of the crypto industry (joining in 2011). Erik believes crypto can change the world, and this episode explores his thesis on Bitcoin's future, on-chain maximalism, DAO structures and crypto's path to adoption. Highlights include: - What is the best form of money - Bitcoin's tail emission risk - How DeFi will outperform CeFi - Will all financial transactions be on-chain? - The likely path to a...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 113
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Yawn Rong, co-founder of STEPN. STEPN is a widely successful Web3 application where users are paid to move (walk, jog or sprint). Yes, that may sound slightly dubious but tell that to the 1.7M+ active users STEPN garnered in only six months after launch. Tune in to find out why STEPN was so successful and how STEPN plans to be the onboarding ecosystem of Web3! Highlights include: - STEPN's pivot to Web2 - How STEPN's two token system works...
Jul 22, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 112
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Matthew Ball. Matthew is a strategist, technologist, investor, and metaverse expert. This episode is a masterclass on the future of the Metaverse, interoperability and the tech industry. What defines the Metaverse? Who will build it? And will crypto be a key ingredient? Tune in to find out! Highlights include: - Defining the Metaverse - What marks its arrival - Why centralization forces will always exist - How interoperability will work - Why metadat...
Jul 18, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 111
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by two experts in the Bitcoin mining industry, Cassie Clifton (Galaxy Digital) and Kevin Zhang (Foundry). Since the start of the bear market in November 2021, we've seen prices crash and contagion run through DeFi. But it wasn't until May 2022 that rumors started to spread of pain in the Bitcoin mining industry. Profit margins are collapsing, debt obligations are coming due, and miners are fighting to stay solvent. Tune in for a complete breakdown of th...
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 110
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Eric Peters, the founder and CEO of One River Asset Management. Eric, a renowned macro investor, made a splash in the cryptoverse in November 2020 by making a $600M BTC purchase before sagely exiting the market with a $1B+ profit. Eric shares his views on the current macro cycle, investment strategies, the future of DeFi and crypto's inevitability. Highlights include: - The state of macro and why inflation was a choice - End of the 60-40 p...
Jul 11, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 109
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss this week's biggest stories. Voyager and 3AC file for bankruptcy, Bitcoin miners are becoming forced sellers, MakerDAO is bringing real-world assets to crypto, and so much more. Highlights include: - The shift in narrative from inflation to growth - Why Voyager might see a major lawsuit - Thoughts on the BlockFi acquisition - Where to keep your crypto assets - Santi's two recommended investment strategies - Core Scientific (mine...
Jul 08, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 108
In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Sunny Aggarwal (Osmosis co-founder) and Derek Hsue (Reverie co-founder & "I Pledge Allegiance" co-host) to discuss the future of Osmosis, appchains and protocol governance. Show highlights include: - Learnings from the CeFi fallout - How protocols should re-think token incentives - Thoughts on dYdX moving to Cosmos - Why applications should launch their own chain - One of the biggest shortfalls of rollups - Osmosis as the interchain DE...
Jul 04, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 107
In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss this week's biggest stories. CeFi continues to implode, funds are facing redemptions and Bitcoin miners are in trouble. What could be the catalyst out of this mess? How has Santi changed his mind about DeFi? Tune in to find out! Highlights include: - Why Santi changed his mind on undercollateralized loans in DeFi - What is happening with CoinFLEX and Roger Ver - 3AC officially defaults - Why users aren't ready to use DeFi - Jaso...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 106
