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Empire

Blockworksblockworks.co
Empire features interviews with top crypto founders to get the real stories that aren’t shared elsewhere. Empire is your look behind the curtain of the crypto industry. We release two episodes per week: guest interviews on Monday and a weekly roundup on Friday.
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Episodes

Permissionless II Recap: RWAs, DeFi Resurgence, Top Takeaways

After a week filled with panels, keynote speaking, and expo visiting Santi and Jason share their biggest takeaways from the Permissionless 2 conference. They dive into the awakening of the RWA DeFi narrative, regulatory discussions, crypto investment landscape and much more. - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: htt...

Sep 19, 202349 min

JPMorgan Crypto Strategy Revealed | Tyrone Lobban

In this episode of Empire, Tyrone Lobban, Head of Onyx Digital Assets from JPMorgan Chase joins us to dive into how traditional financial institutions are adopting onchain capabilities. They explore Onyx digital assets goal, project guardian's aim to unlock institutional access to DeFi, and how JPM views blockchain. - - Follow Tyrone: https://twitter.com/TyLobban Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/t...

Sep 12, 202354 min

MakerDAO and Visa Adopt Solana, Nima Capital MIA, Spot Ether ETF | Roundup

In today's round-up, Jason and Santi dive into MakerDAO selection of Solana codebase, Visa using Solana for payments, Nima Capital going dark, and recent Spot Ether ETF news. Find out why Solana was selected for Maker's NewChain and how Visa aims to provide merchants transactions at the speed of light. - - Bumper is an innovative DeFi protocol that protects the value of the crypto you hold from the downside & simultaneously preserves gains when the price climbs. - A superior alternative to c...

Sep 08, 20231 hr 2 min

Policy Corner: Grayscale ETF, Uniswap Dismissal, Tornado Cash Indictment | Rebecca Rettig, Jake Chervinsky

Jason is joined by Rebecca Rettig and Jake Chervinsky in today's special Policy Series episode to tackle the monumental implications of Grayscale ETF decision, Uniswap case dismissal and Tornado Cash indictments. They discuss how these decisions could impact the broader industry and what's coming up next for Bitcoin ETF decisions. - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:37)The Importance of Grayscale ETF Victory (11:20) “Chainalysis Ad” (12:24) ETF Consequences & What's Next? (28:48) Uniswa...

Sep 07, 202349 min

Inside Polygon 2.0: Sandeep on L2 Wars and Business Model

In this episode of Empire, Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, elaborates on Polygon 2.0's bold approach to achieving infinite scalability in blockchain networks. Sandeep outlines his thesis for Polygon as not just a scalability solution, but as the foundational "Value Layer of the Internet." The conversation explores various components of Polygon 2.0 including it's innovation of zk EVM, POL Tokenomics, and the 3 pillars for governance. Nailwal also touches on Polygon's strategic partnership...

Sep 05, 20231 hr 1 min

Grayscale ETF Triumph, Uniswap case dismissal, and 10 Brian Armstrong Ideas | Roundup

In today's round-up, Jason and Santi dive into the Greyscale ETF victory and why it matters, the Uniswap case dismissal, and the 10 things Brian Armstrong is most excited to see in crypto. Their conversation digs into why ETFs have deep implications for the space, complexities of P2P markets, Web3 ad verticals, and much much more! - - Use code EMPIRE30 to get 30% off Permissionless 2023 in Austin: https://blockworks.co/event/permissionless-2023 - - Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel ...

Sep 01, 20231 hr 9 min

Empire Debates: L2 Wars, FriendTech, Crypto Regs, Digital Art Movement

In today's special premiere Empire Debate episode, Santiago, Tommy, and Ryan dissect the biggest debates affecting Crypto. They dive into the L2 wars, whether Base needs a token, or if decentralization even matters for mass adoption. Also discussed are ETF approval chances, Crypto regs on the horizon, and NFTs new movement as fine digital art. - - Follow Tommy: https://twitter.com/Shaughnessy119 Follow Ryan: https://twitter.com/kukulabanze Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow S...

Sep 01, 20231 hr 16 min

Web3 Ad Markets Explained | Antonio García Martínez

In this episode of Empire, we're joined by Antonio García Martínez, Founder of Spindle, New York Times best selling author, and tech leader with experience ranging from Facebook to Goldman Sachs. Today's episode delves into the intricate world of advertising, contrasting traditional Web2 paradigms with emerging Web3 possibilities. Learn about the the decentralization of advertising platforms, evolving monetization models, and the ethical implications surrounding data privacy. - - Follow Antonio:...

Aug 29, 20231 hr 9 min

Solana & Shopify, Tornado Cash vs DOJ, Coinbase & Circle | Roundup

In today's round-up, Jason and Santi discuss Solana & Shopify's partnership, DOJ's arrest of Tornado Cash's Co-founder, and Coinbase's acquisition of Circle. They explore the collaboration's implications between Solana and Shopify. When discussing the DOJ's arrest of Tornado Cash's Co-founder, they address legal aspects and community impact. Finally, they analyze Coinbase's acquisition of Circle, highlighting strategic significance and revenue potential. - - Use code EMPIRE30 to get 30% off ...

Aug 25, 202352 min

Trading Principles, Friend.tech's "Perfect Use Case" & Bitcoin's Sell-Off | 1000x

Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/45htDli Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3Kz0Bpw Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- On today's episode of 1000x, Avi & Jonah discuss the recent Bitcoin sell-off, perfecting a trading strategy to avoid periods of volatility & key principles for a successful trading strategy. We then dive deep into crypto's latest hype & potential "perfect use case"... Friend.tech. Arguing that you need to be paying attention, Av...

Aug 24, 202339 min

Friend.tech Debate: Innovation or Implosion? | Ansem

In today's episode, Ansem joins us to dive into Friend.Tech, Crypto twitter's latest hot narrative. The discussion dives into Friend.Tech, a Base chain native app that allows users to create and trade tokens associated with their online profiles. They explore how Friend.tech enables trading of personal tokens and its potential impact on independent artists, debate its ethical considerations, and future potential of social tokens. - - Follow Ansem: https://twitter.com/blknoiz06 Follow Jason: http...

Aug 22, 20231 hr 22 min

Ending the Modular vs Monolithic Debate | Kyle Samani

We're joined by Kyle Samani, the co-founder of Multicoin Capital and one of crypto's most independent thinkers. In this episode, we cover why "monolithic L1s" is a misnomer, the value of global state, how a protocol establishes moats, why DePIN is finding product-market fit, how Kyle synthesizes new ideas and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (00:34) The Modular vs Monolithic Debate (07:43) Bootstrapping Communities (09:17) A Case for Rollups and Appchains (15:33) The Value of Composabi...

Aug 18, 20231 hr 9 min

Solana’s Ultimate Vision | Anatoly Yakovenko

Anatoly joins us to discuss why Solana is uniquely designed to utilize ever-increasing bandwidth and compute. We cover Solana's core thesis, how blockchains benefit from hardware improvements, the fundamental flaws of L2s, Anatoly's favorite applications, decentralization and more! Anatoly is a legend, you don't want to miss this one! - - Follow Anatoly: https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko Follow Mert: https://twitter.com/0xMert_ Follow Garrett: https://twitter.com/GarrettHarper_ Follow Lightspeed: ...

Aug 15, 20231 hr 16 min

The Future of Stablecoins | Bell Curve Roundup

This week we're excited to bring you the Round Up episode from our Bell Curve Podcast, a show where we breakdown the most important themes in crypto. In today’s episode, Mike and Michael discuss all things Stables and more! The guys kick things off with PayPal, discussing their PYUSD Stablecoin launch and what it means for the wider ecosystem and future Stablecoin market structure. We then take a closer look at Coinbase’s Q2 earnings, before touching on future Rollup value accrual. We then close...

Aug 11, 20231 hr 2 min

Crypto Is Entering A Paradigm Shift | 1000x

Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/45htDli Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3Kz0Bpw Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- On today's episode of 1000x, Avi & Jonah discuss the major shift happening in crypto markets. As green shoots emerge across the industry, are there signs of liquidity beginning to return? We also deep dive into the performance of crypto hedge funds throughout 2023, how a Bitcoin ETF would open up a "gateway of liquidity" and PayPal's st...

Aug 10, 202333 min

Base: Decentralization Funding, Public Infrastructure, & Onchain Native Life | Jesse Pollak

In today's episode, Santi is joined by Jesse Pollak, a Base contributor. Base is an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) chain incubating inside of Coinbase with plans to progressively decentralize the chain over time. They discuss Coinbase role in the ecosystem, account messaging & abstraction, privacy approach, and ecosystem growth trajectories. - - Follow Jesse: https://twitter.com/jessepollak Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire...

Aug 09, 20231 hr 3 min

The Blockworks Origin Story | Michael & Jason

In today's episode, the tables have flipped. Santi & Michael interview Co-founders of Blockworks Michael and Jason. They dive into the Blockworks origin story, from conception, surviving COVID, the hiring difference, and the evolving thesis for Blockworks growth & trajectory. - - Follow Michael I: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Michael A: https://twitter.com/im_manderson Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Emp...

Aug 08, 20231 hr 32 min

Curve Hack Explained | Roundup

In today's round-up, we dive into the $70M Curve Exploit. Joined by Ren, a blockworks research analyst, and Andrew, blockwork's lead data reporter, the team dives into how the exploit happened, the impacted pools, MEV & White Hat recovery efforts, and Egorov's liquidation hunt. - - Use code EMPIRE30 to get 30% off Permissionless 2023 in Austin: https://blockworks.co/event/permissionless-2023 - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Ren: https://twitter.com/purplepill3m Foll...

Aug 04, 20231 hr 2 min

Why VC is Dumb Money, OpenSea Token, and The NFT Comeback | Nick Tomaino

In today's episode, Nick Tomaino, GP of 1confirmation, joins Santiago and Jason. They dive into why the Next Gen L1 Thesis is wrong, Opensea token launch, VC issues, and his thesis for NFTs moving forward. - - Follow Nick Tomaino: https://twitter.com/NTmoney Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4f...

Aug 01, 20231 hr 18 min

Centralized Builders Bull Case, Bear Market Conference, zkEVM Problems | EthCC Reflection

In today's episode Dan and Sam are joined by host of Bell Curve Podcast & Blockworks Co-Founder Michael and Blockworks research analyst Matt. The team dives into their key takeaways of the EthCC and converse on zkEVM problems, the bull case for centralization, scaling solutions, interoperability, and much more! - - Follow 0xResearch on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3foDS38 Subscribe to 0xResearch on Apple: https://apple.co/3SNhUEt Subscribe to 0xResearch on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3NlP1hA - - Fo...

Jul 28, 20231 hr 9 min

Will AI Agents Use Crypto? | Qiao Wang

In today's episode, Jason is joined by Qiao Wang, Partner at Alliance DAO. They start today's episode by sentiment checking the market, reflecting on the current building landscape, and the types of founders and projects currently raising funds. They wrap up the show by diving into the intersection of Crypto & AI, decentralizing AI, and consumer crypto AI products. - - Follow Qiao Wang: https://twitter.com/QwQiao Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter....

Jul 25, 20231 hr 17 min

Chainlink CCIP Bomb, UniswapX, & Synthetix upgrades explained | Roundup

In today's episode special edition cross-over episode Jason and Santi are joined by Michael, Co-founder at Framework Ventures and Co-host of the Bell Curve podcast. They cover EthCC Account Abstraction takeaways, Infinex, UniswapX, Chainlink CCIP & LayerZero, the VC landscape and MUCH much more. - - This episode is brought to you by Kwenta, the premier derivatives trading platform on Optimism that offers deep liquidity, low fees and up to 50x leverage across 24+ assets. Go to Kwenta.io and s...

Jul 21, 20231 hr 22 min

The Bear Case for Risk Assets | 1000x

In today's episode of 1000x, Avi & Jonah explore the bear case despite the XRP rally. Also discussed are the impact of XRP versus ETF news, Ripple effect on Alt Market, the multi-chain thesis, on-chain RWAs, and much more! We'll drop a new 1000x episode on Empire's RSS feed and the 1000x YouTube channel every two weeks. Hit the links below and give us a follow! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:17) Market Sentiment Check-in (06:40) Market Insights From News (12:18) Impact of XRP vs ET...

Jul 20, 202338 min

Policy Series: The Ripple Effect | Rebecca Rettig, Jake Chervinsky

Join Santi and guests Rebeca Rettig and Jake Chervinsky in today's special Policy Series episode as they discuss the landmark Ripple case and its monumental impact. Explore the implications for future legislation, token sales practices, decentralization & governance, and get updates on MiCA & EU regulations. - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:24) Landmark Ripple Case (14:00) Verdict Impact on Industry Financing (19:08) What's Next for Ripple Case? (24:35) Influence on Future Legisl...

Jul 20, 20231 hr 7 min

Pudgy Penguins Path to Legacy Brand & IP Powerhouse | Luca Netz

In today's episode, Jason is joined by Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, to discuss his journey, Pudgy Penguins' business model, IP Houses, Brand Licensing, and Pudgy Penguins future. - - Follow Luca Netz: https://twitter.com/LucaNetz Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market ins...

Jul 18, 202351 min

The Reboot | Uncommon Core 2.0 with Hasu and Jon Charbonneau

Uncommon Core - one of my favorite podcasts of all time - is back! This reboot is hosted by Hasu and Jon Charbonneau, two of the brightest minds in crypto. We are dropping their first episode here to share the news and because you’ll want to add this show to your podcast lineup! __ In this episode, we explore Jon’s journey into crypto and our mutual passion for research and the writing process. We then give an overview of the key areas of crypto infrastructure today. Finally, we zoom into rollup...

Jul 17, 20231 hr 22 min

Landmark Ripple & SEC Case: XRP Not a Security (maybe) | Roundup

In today's episode, Jason and Santiago dive into Ripples landmark victory over the SEC, Celsius CEO's arrest, the first smart contract exploit criminal case, On-chain RWAs, and Coinbase's Wallet-to-wallet messaging. -- Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl....

Jul 14, 202354 min

Superstate: Unlocking On-Chain RWAs | Rob Leshner

In today's episode, Jason is joined by Rob Leshner, former founder of Compound, to discuss his newly created venture Superstate. We cover the challenges & impacts of bringing RWAs on-chain, the go-to-market strategy and competitive landscape for Superstate, and the upcoming battleground for stablecoins. - - Timestamps: (00:00) What is Superstate (08:06) Challenges of bringing RWAs on-chain (18:27) Impact of Trad Assets on Crypto (28:52) Quicknode ad (30:39) Carbon Ad (32:18) Superstate Raise...

Jul 11, 20231 hr

Larry Fink Just Ignited BTC's Institutional Adoption Narrative | Roundup

In today's episode, Jason and Santiago discuss institutional impacts on crypto including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's comments on Bitcoin as digital gold and Coinbase ETF rally affect. We also cover the NFT market capitulation, Blur scapegoating, Lido treasury conversion, and the excitement around Permissionless. - - Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 3:10 Threads: The Twitter Killer? 13:41 Larry Fink on BTC as Digital Gold 21:09 Coinbase ETF Rally 26:50 NFT Capitulation: Is Blur a scapegoat? 37:43 Li...

Jul 07, 202347 min

How to Analyze the ETH:BTC Trade | 1000x

In today's episode of 1000x, Jonah and Avi discuss markets and trading ETH:BTC. We also cover our worst trades and what we learned, why OG DeFi tokens pumped, how most NFTs resemble brands (not art), trading a BTC ETF approval, the setup for the next bull run and more! We'll drop a new 1000x episode on Empire's RSS feed and the 1000x YouTube channel every two weeks. Hit the links below and give us a follow! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:56) Our Worst Trades and Lessons from History (1...

Jul 06, 202346 min
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