Empire

AI and distribution moats are forcing investors to separate real business transformation from crypto’s unresolved value-capture problem. This week, Jason and Santi discuss what months of researching crypto adoption taught Inversion, why the firm's investment strategy is evolving, and what it reveals about where value is actually being created today. They also explore Robinhood's onchain strategy,...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the announcement of OUSD and what it means for the future of Circle. We then deep dive into Robinhood’s recent product launches, Venice’s $65M raise, crypto’s continued discussion around tokens vs. equity, and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempir...

This week, Vishal Garg joins the show to discuss how crypto and AI are reshaping the mortgage market. We deep dive into Better’s business model, why the mortgage market is so inefficient today, how to leverage tokenization and AI, partnering with Coinbase and OpenAI, and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Vishal: https://x.com/vishal_better Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://x.co...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the current state of markets as worries around Strategy drag crypto lower. We then deep dive into the competition in prediction markets, the state of crypto venture, Kraken’s pursuit of a stake in Aave, Fomo’s $75M raise, and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Rob: ht...

This week, Ben Jones and Karl Floersch join the show to discuss what happened to the L2s. We take a deep dive into Optimism's new strategy for 2026, the current state of Ethereum, why companies need to launch a chain, having a token, and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Karl: https://x.com/karl_dot_tech Follow Ben: https://x.com/ben_chain Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://x.co...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss why the US government placed export controls on Anthropic's Fable model. We then deep dive into open vs close sourced models, will Microstratgey blow up, structuring a portfolio in 2026, Coinbase's new product announcement and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jordi: https://x.com/gametheorizing Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Sant...

This week, Ryan Watkins join the show to discuss the current state of crypto and where he sees the most opportunity in 2026. We deep dive into running a crypto fund in 2026, do four year cycles still exist, the Hyperliquid thesis, token unlocks and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Ryan: https://x.com/RyanWatkins_ Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- Robots w...

In this special episode, Blockworks announces its acquisition of Messari and unpacks what it means for crypto’s next phase. Michael and Jason explore why Messari’s breadth of data, APIs, and research complement Blockworks’ deep on-chain analytics, investor relations, and disclosure products. They also address crypto’s trust problem, the need for standardized data and disclosures, and how Blockwork...

This week, CFTC Chair Michael Selig joins the show to discuss the CFTC's recent policy announcement on perps in the U.S. We deep dive into how to regulate crypto in the U.S, prediction markets, 24/7 markets, working with the SEC and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Michael: https://x.com/MichaelSelig Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- Robots will soon outnumber hu...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the upcoming SpaceX IPO with early investor Ryan Zurrer. We deep dive into how to value SpaceX, why this crypto bear market feels worse than others, opportunities in DeFi today, Strategy selling Bitcoin and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Ryan: https://x.com/kukulabanze Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiag...

This week, Avichal Garg joins the show to discuss how he is currently allocating to crypto in 2026. We deep dive into the opportunity in crypto and AI venture, how to build a breakout app, the future path for Ethereum, why Avichal is still bullish on SOL & ETH, why tokens trade at a discount and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Avichal: https://x.com/avichal Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss why everyone in crypto feels so bearish. We then dive deep into whether stablecoins significantly improve payment rails, Robinhood’s AI agent announcement, Rob’s takeaways from a trip to D.C., MicroStrategy and RoboStrategy NAV premiums, and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroe...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss why Hyperliquid is having its breakout moment by capitalizing on the trillion dollar IPO wave. We then deep dive into whether we’re entering a new bull market, if Ethereum is overvalued, SpaceX’s IPO, and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM F...

This week, Mike Cagney joins the show to discuss Figure and how it became the leading non-bank HELOC lender in the U.S. We deep dive into how Figure leverages blockchain rails to scale the next evolution of capital markets before Mike shares his thoughts on tokenization, being a public vs private company, how to fix tokens and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Mike: https://x.com/mcagney Follow Jason: https:...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the current AI mania and how it feels similar to crypto in 2017. We then deep dive into Circle's $222M raise, expectations for the Clarity Act, Anthropic's crackdown on SPVs and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM Follow Empire: https://x.com...

This week, Stani Kulechov & Mike Silagadze join the show to discuss the aftermath of the KelpDAO exploit. We deep dive into why this hack could have potentially killed DeFi, launching the DeFi United fund, how to mitigate against future hacks, why DeFi tokens are uninvestable and more .Enjoy! -- Follow Stani: https://x.com/StaniKulechov Follow Mike: https://x.com/MikeSilagadze Follow Jason: https:...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the current state of markets during earnings season. As equities push to new all time highs on stronger than expected results, we take a closer look at Robinhood’s numbers, the DeFi United recovery fund, Pump.fun’s token burn announcement and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoro...

This week, Alex Pruden & Philip Martin join the show to discuss Bitcoin's rising quantum threat. We deep dive into what is the risk from quantum, what to do with Satoshi's coins, will we see a Bitcoin fork, how does DeFi mitigate hacks, how to protect your privacy and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Alex: https://x.com/apruden08 Follow Philip: https://x.com/SecurityGuyPhil Follow Santi: https://x.com/santi...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the latest DeFi exploit of KelpDAO which saw $290M in funds exploited. We deep dive into how to resolve the recent exploits in DeFi, the rivalry between Kalshi and Polymarket, will the Clarity Act pass and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM...

This week, Jason and Mippo sat down to discuss the Blockworks rebrand! They examine the trust problem in crypto, onchain capital markets, disclosure frameworks, industry consolidation, and Blockworks’ evolution over the years.  Enjoy! – Follow Blockworks: https://x.com/blockworks Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ Subscribe on YouTube: https://...

This week, Logan Jastremski joins the show to discuss his current crypto thesis in 2026. We deep dive into who wins the competition for onchain trading volume between Solana and Hyperliquid, are L1s overvalued, Logan's highest conviction bets in 2026 and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Logan: https://x.com/LoganJastremski Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Fo...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the current state of markets as the S&P hits a new all time high. We then deep dive into Tether's $150M recovery plan for Drift, Kraken's $200M raise, the impact on Microstrategy's $STRC, why have L2s underperformed and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https...

This week, Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic & Luca Prosperi join the show to discuss what's next for DeFi in 2026. We deep dive into why are rates so low in DeFi today, how to mitigate risk, the growth of stablecoins, the fallout from Drift's exploit, the opportunity for prediction markets and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Adrian: https://x.com/adcv_ Follow Luca: https://x.com/LucaProsperi Follow Jason: https...

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the biggest problem within DeFi today. We then deep dive into Anthropic's announcement of Mythos, the state of crypto fundraising, the biggest winners in crypto today, are we buying the dip and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- Z...

This week, the Hivemind team breaks down the ceasefire in Iran and how it could impact markets going forward. We then deep dive into the 2026 IPO window, is AI a bubble, the fallout of Drift's $280M exploit, Polymarkets recent announcement and more. Enjoy! -- To stay up to date with future Hivemind episodes: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2A...