On today's episode Jason is joined by Fred Thiel, Chairman and CEO at Marathon Digital Holdings. Together they explore the world of Bitcoin mining, They dig into the current state of Bitcoin mining, including the competitive landscape, access to capital and equipment, and energy costs. They discuss how miners provide grid stabilization services to utilities by controlling electricity demand and the dynamics around Bitcoin's 4-year cycles, and how the industry will likely consolidate given tighte...
Feb 20, 2024•1 hr 14 min
In today's episode, Santi is joined by Rebecca Rettig and Miller Whitehouse to update us on the latest policy concerns impacting crypto. They cover the origins of the DeFi Education Fund and the realities of educating regulators on the novelty of DeFi. They then shift gears and discuss onchain illicit activity that exists, how to find a compromise between permissionless systems and state control, the role stablecoins like USDC play, and reactions to the SEC’s proposed dealer rule that threatens ...
Feb 17, 2024•1 hr 19 min
In this week's roundup Jason and Santi discuss the recent bitcoin price surge, the importance of bitcoin ETF inflows compared to gold, and whether we are entering the next phase of a bull market. They also discuss the Starkware airdrop controversy, dive into how crypto fundraising works today compared to the ICO era, debate whether if they should make a return. Shifting gears they discuss whether if restaking constitutes leverage and Santi shares his thoughts on Farcaster after a week of casting...
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3I1ZVr5 Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/42DgP8Z Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- We're back! On today's episode of 1000x, Jonah and Avi discuss recent market price action as Bitcoin rips above $50,000 & ETF flows continue. -- Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyz Follow 1000x: https://twitter.com/1000xPod Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe t...
Feb 15, 2024•45 min
On today's episode Jason and Santi are joined by Ramon, co-founder and CEO of Memori Labs. The trio dive into Kinto - a secure layer 2 built on Arbitrum Nitro that provides KYC at the chain level to enable institutions and users to access DeFi more safely. They discuss the pain points that led Ramon to build Kinto, the importance of compliance and security for mainstream adoption, how Kinto manages user data privacy, and Ramon's vision for how KYC may evolve in a Web3 future. Stay tuned to dig i...
Feb 13, 2024•52 min
In today's episode of the convo, Ryan, Tommy, and Santi debate the biggest topics and narratives across crypto. They dig into the the recent Solana outage, Ethereum's scalability roadmap, the intersection of AI and crypto, and their defining crypto theses for 2024. They unpack the implications of the Solana outage and whether it impacts institutional adoption. Transitioning topics, they debate Ethereum's scalability roadmap, including rollups, modular architectures, and Ethereum's ability to mai...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 30 min
In this week's roundup Jason and Santi discuss Farcaster's recent surge in adoption, analyzing features like channels and programmable posts, and how it could transform distribution and customer acquisition. The conversation then turns to a deep dive into airdrops questioning the efficiency and high costs of current models while discussing Dymension's recent airdrop struggles. Stick around for all of this and much more! - - Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Jason: https://twi...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min
In today's episode we dive into the emergence of decentralized social networks and how they enable new forms of distribution and business models. Farcaster, a decentralized social network built on Ethereum, has seen 400% increase in daily active users. This episode's discussion unpacks the concept of headless marketplaces, powered by global onchain identity and money, and how they bring markets to users wherever they already are. We explore the the permissionless composability unlocked by onch...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 6 min
On today's episode we dive into Near Protocol with Co-founder and Near Foundation CEO Illia Polosukhin. Illia details key innovations, like account aggregation, sharding, and chain abstraction, that are aimed at bringing blockchain to a mass consumer base. We also discuss Near's strategic partnerships, challenges in onboarding Web 2.0 companies, and their impressive vision of a decade with over a hundred million monthly users. We then shift focus to AI as we explore user-owned AI, software gener...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 20 min
On today's episode of Empire Haseeb and Avichal return to Empire to discuss crypto in 2024. They debate whether we're entering a bull market and analyze key indicators like retail engagement, institutional flows, and blockchain development activity. The majority of the conversation focuses on a debate of the EVM versus alternative chains like Solana, Monad, or other virtual machines. They also touch on the sustainability of meme coins, and whether major consumer apps will emerge this cycle. They...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 47 min
In today's episode Jason and Santi are joined by Logan Jastremski, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Frictionless Capital. He shares his thesis on why high-throughput blockchains are essential for crypto to reach mainstream adoption. We dive deep into the technical limitations of existing chains, and how innovations like parallelization and higher bandwidth unlock entirely new applications and business models not possible before. Stay tuned for a deep dive into deterministic and optimistic para...
Jan 26, 2024•1 hr 28 min
In today's episode Jason is joined by Kyle Samani of Multicoin Capital and Dmitriy Berenzon of Archetype for an in-depth debate on the emerging decentralized physical infrastructure industry. They analyze the complex economic flywheel effects that drive growth, including how token incentives align infrastructure providers and fuel liquidity and value. The discussion covers considerations around hardware needs, revenue models, and mainstream adoption challenges. They also assess the differences b...
Jan 23, 2024•1 hr 6 min
In today's episode Jason is joined by ETF celebrities Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, and Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer for Bitwise Asset Management. They start off by discussing the criticisms around underwhelming trading volumes and put the declines in GBTC into context. Discussion then leads to an inside scoop on how authorized participants source liquidity for the ETF and the real costs involved in running these funds. They also dive into how advisors are rethinkin...
Jan 19, 2024•56 min
In today's episode Jason is joined by Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, to discuss the long-awaited approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF and its implications. They analyze the behind-the-scenes challenges for approval and the ensuing fee war between ETF issuers. They dig into Grayscales place in the spot ETF market and competitive angle. They also discuss trading volume and flows, the potential pathway for an Ethereum ETF, and the broader significance of crypto assets becoming embedde...
Jan 16, 2024•29 min
In today's episode of Empire Santi and Jason are joined by Blockworks Senior Reporters Casey Wagner and Ben Strack to analyze the historic first approvals of Bitcoin spot ETFs. They discuss the early winners among top asset managers, with BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale seeing significant early trading volumes. We also unpack the unfolding fee war between issuers as they slash prices to as low as 0.15% to stay competitive. We also dive into Coinbase's role as custodian for 9 of the 11 approve...
Jan 12, 2024•42 min
Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3tFGmBv Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/48JRV9i Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- We're back with the first episode of 2024! This week, Dan Matuszewski of CMS Holdings joins the show for a discussion on trading crypto's next bull market. We deep dive into CMS's trading strategy, surviving previous bear markets, narrative trading in crypto & what to expect in 2024 post Bitcoin ETF approval. -- Follow CMS: https://twit...
Jan 11, 2024•49 min
In today's episode Jason and Santi are joined by Solana Labs founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko and Ben Sparango, the Head of Strategic Business Development. The duo has returned to discuss Solana's progress beyond the FTX fallout. They dive into Solana's priorities around scaling, fees, and alignment incentives between builders and validators. Anatoly elaborates on the network effects of open-sourcing core technology like the SVM, while Ben highlights mobile adoption and NFTs as driving new cryp...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 34 min
In today's episode of Empire Santi and Jason dive into recent crypto market volatility triggered by an analyst report forecasting SEC rejection of a spot Bitcoin ETF. They discuss the risks of overleveraging during bull runs, debate the usefulness of "economic security," and managing greed in seek of high yields. The conversation then turns to an in-depth analysis of the emerging trend of "restaking" protocols and discuss concerns about adding fragility and centralization risks. To close out the...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 4 min
In today's episode of Empire Santi and Jason reveal their 2024 crypto predictions across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and more. They debate whether Solana can flip Ethereum, if restaking products and NFTs will explode, if Coinbase becomes a bank, and if prediction markets finally go mainstream. They also discuss macro trends, regulatory risks, social fi, and end with price targets. Don't miss their unfiltered predictions for 2024. - - Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagor...
Jan 02, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, host Santi dives into AI and it's intersection with Crypto. Joined by Casey and Daniel, they investigate AI's key innovations, centralizing tendency, and the importance of zero-knowledge proofs in merging AI and crypto. They address the potential challenges and opportunities presented by decentralized networks and GPUs. The chat extends to AI regulation, non-deterministic AI's issues in production, and AI model insurance. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Case...
Dec 29, 2023•1 hr 41 min
In today's episode of Empire Santi and Jason reflect on crypto's 2023 landscape and beyond. They revisit their 2023 predictions and the best products, founders, stars, and companies from the year. They also share their perspectives on their best and worst investments of the year. The episode further delves into sectors to watch and concludes with a debate on the most overhyped sectors of 2024 offering a critical look at market expectations versus reality. We hope you have a happy holidays! - - F...
Dec 27, 2023•45 min
In today's episode of Empire Santi is joined by Ilya and Richard, the Founders of Solana's leading NFT Marketplace Tensor. They detail Tensor's origin story, from meeting online during COVID to building Solana's leading NFT marketplace amidst the FTX fallout. They discuss critical issues like enhancing Solana's developer experience, decentralizing their protocol in 2024, evolving user behavior and adoption trends on Solana, and their grand vision for NFTs as the fundamental building blocks under...
Dec 22, 2023•1 hr 12 min
Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3NiKjm6 Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3TcDNks Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- On today's episode of 1000x, Jonah and Avi discuss recent market price action as Bitcoin hovers just below $45,000. Ahead of expected Bitcoin ETF approvals in January 2024, we deep dive into the meme coin mania, crypto's most hated trade & defining success as a trader. To hear all this & more, you'll have to tune in! -- Follow Avi: ...
Dec 21, 2023•50 min
In today's episode of Empire, Kevin Sekniqi, Co-Founder of Avalanche, and Patrick O'Grady, VP of Engineering at Avalanche, join the show to discuss the past, present, and future of Avalanche. They start by explaining the core thesis behind Avalanche - that the future will consist of thousands of highly optimized, specialized blockchains rather than one chain to rule them all. Kevin and Patrick provide an overview of Avalanche's architecture, clarifying common misconceptions around P-Chain, C-Cha...
Dec 19, 2023•1 hr 17 min
In today's episode of Empire Jason and Santi dive into the latest crypto news, including the FASB fair value ruling for Bitcoin, the Ledger exploit, and the controversy around Rainbow's new points system. They debate the pros and cons of new yield generating protocols like Manta and BLAST, make 2024 predictions about the proliferation of L2 platforms with native yield, and discuss whether investing in early DeFi protocols still makes sense. Tune in for all this and much more! - - Northstake simp...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 6 min
In this episode Jason and Santi are joined by Mike Cahill, CEO of Douro Labs and contributor at Pyth Network, an oracle that publishes financial market data to multiple blockchains. The conversation delves into how Pyth Network addresses failings in both the current Oracle system in crypto and the traditional capital markets. Cahill discusses how the network has evolved, its present accomplishments, the benefits of their governance token, and their approach to rewards. To close out Mike outlines...
Dec 12, 2023•1 hr 1 min
From across the globe, today's episode of Empire brings Santi and Jason together to discuss Societe Generale's first-ever Euro stablecoin launch, Santi's reaction to feedback, and whether we truly are back. They also explore the implications of meme coin culture and if it damages the perception of the industry as whole. They also discuss Coinbase's recent easy crypto payments feature launch and the striking convenience it offers. They close out by deliberating on the future of gaming in the cryp...
Dec 08, 2023•58 min
Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3sJOsIJ Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/47MEsxe Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- In today's episode of 1000x Jonah and Avi discuss the recent bullish price action in crypto markets. As Bitcoin broke out above $44,000, we dive into the best way to play the BTC/Alt rotation trade, crypto's cycle top & the most hated trade in crypto right now... Ethereum. To hear all this & more, you'll have to tune in! -- Follow A...
Dec 07, 2023•49 min
In this episode, host Santi dives into the world of Web3 gaming with Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable - an Ethereum gaming protocol enabling true digital asset ownership for gamers. Robbie explains how Immutable allows game developers to build Web3 mechanics into their titles. They also explore the intersection of blockchains and games, Ethereum's role, and the need for scalable solutions as adoption grows. To close out Robbie discusses the challenges and future landscape of Web3 gaming,...
Dec 06, 2023•55 min
In today's episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are revisiting the Cosmos appchain thesis and are joined by Ethan Buchman, Cosmos co-founder, and Sam Hart, head of product & strategy at Skip Protocol. They revisit the App Chain thesis and how it is playing out both within Cosmos and L2-Ethereum based rollups. The ideal protocol for launching an App Chain is unpacked, addressing functionality needs, integration requirements, governance models and more. Sam and Ethan dive into IBC enabling multi...
Dec 05, 2023•1 hr 9 min
