Empire

This week we discuss the question everyone has been asking themselves in 2024... Ethereum or Solana? As Solana rose from the ashes in late 2023, and meme coin season captured the zeitgeist in early 2024, is the bull case for SOL clearer than ever before? We discuss the bull & bear case for both assets & Avi drops some spicy takes! But to hear that, you'll have to tune in. -- Follow Avi: https://tw...

In today's episode Kyle Samani from Multicoin Capital joins Michael and Hart to discuss the complex dynamics of network effects in the blockchain ecosystem. The conversation dives deep into the different types of network effects at play, the phenomenon of anti-network effects caused by high gas fees, and the potential for blockchain technology to revolutionize global finance. Kyle shares his insig...

In today's interview, Cathie Wood from ARK Invest and Ophelia Snyder from 21 Shares join Jason to discuss the journey from monetary shock to an innovation-led economic boom. They dive into the importance of wirehouses for crypto adoption, the demand outlook for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and the likelihood of seeing ETFs for alt coins in the near future. Kathy shares her views on the misallocation...

In this episode, Jason and Santiago recap their experience at the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in London. They discuss the evolution of DAS over the years, noting the increased institutional presence and sophistication. The conversation touches on major themes from the event, including the financialization of meme coins, the growing importance of staking and restaking, and the potential impact of ET...

In this episode, Jason is joined by geebz, TylerD, and DeeZe to discuss the current state of NFTs and memecoins. They dive into how meme coins have taken attention away from NFTs recently, similar to the 2021 NFT bull cycle. The guests share their thoughts on the future of the NFT market, including the potential for gaming NFTs, ordinals on Bitcoin, and the experimentation happening with NFT utili...

Gm! We gathered at DAS London to record the first ever live episode of 1000x. We discuss where are we in the cycle, the ETF impact, Bitcoin's path to $100,000, is the alt L1 trade dead & of course meme coins. Study the Felman. Lessons in there. Enjoy! -- Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyz Follow 1000x:...

In this episode, Santi interviews Smokey, the co-founder of Berachain, a new layer 1 blockchain built on the concept of "proof of liquidity". They dive deep into Berachain's origin story, starting from its conception as a series of NFTs to its current state of development. Smokey explains the core ideas behind proof of liquidity, how it aligns incentives between network security and liquidity, and...

In today's episode, Jason talks with Zach Rynes, formerly known as crypto anon "ChainLinkGod". They discuss Zach's journey in the crypto space, the pros and cons of being an anon, and the strong community of "Link Marines" that has formed around Chainlink. Zach explains how Chainlink has evolved from a simple oracle service to a platform for data, compute and cross-chain functionality, and why he...

In today's episode of Empire, Konstantin Lomashuk, co-founder of Lido & Cyber Fund, discusses his journey. He shares his views on the importance of decentralization in staking, the potential risks and rewards of restaking protocols like Eigenlayer, and his long-term vision for a "cybernetic economy" powered by blockchain and AI. Konstantin also reflects on Ethereum's development roadmap, the surpr...

This week, Alex Kruger aka Krugermacro joins the show for a discussion on where we are in the current crypto cycle. With Bitcoin ripping above all-time highs, ETF flows strong & meme coins up only are thing getting a little too frothy too quick, or does this rally have much further to run?  -- Follow Alex: https://twitter.com/krugermacro Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: http...

In today's episode we are joined by Arthur Hayes and Guy Young dive deep into the world of stablecoins and synthetic dollars. They discuss the counterparty risks associated with Ethena, a new synthetic dollar product, and how it aims to provide a decentralized alternative to traditional stablecoins like Tether and USDC. The conversation also touches on the challenges faced by algorithmic stablecoi...

Today's episode of Empire Santi opens up about the biggest investing mistakes he's made throughout his crypto journey, from getting carried away with trading in Bitcoin's early days, to not re-underwriting his Ethereum thesis as the price soared, to chasing dependent projects during the ICO boom. He unpacks the importance of differentiating between errors of process vs. errors of outcome, shares h...

In today's episode Jason is joined by Bitcoin early adopters, Pete Rizzo and Charlie Shrem. They dive into the early days of Bitcoin from 2011-2014, covering topics like the origins of BitInstant, Charlie's experience being arrested, the Mt. Gox hack, and the start of the block size wars. Charlie and Pete share insider stories and insights from their unique vantage points, having been involved in...

In this week's roundup Jason and Santi dive into the stages of a bull market. They break down why traders often chase narratives and overtrade during peak market conditions. They also analyze the Uniswap proposal to reward token holders, predicting it may enable more DeFi tokens and protocols to distribute fees. To close out they discuss the Blast mainnet launch and incentives offered to builders....

Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3P6Lo19 Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3P4bYbb Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- We're are so ₿ack! On today's episode of 1000x, Jonah and Avi discuss recent market price action as Bitcoin rips above $60,000 & ETF flows continue. -- Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyz Follow...

On today's episode Santi and Jason are joined by Keone Hon, co-founder of Monad, and Jon Charbonneau co-founder of dba, to discuss building performant blockchains and the tradeoffs between modular versus integrated architectures. They cover Monad's design decisions including choosing the EVM for developer portability, implementing optimistic parallel execution for efficiency, and developing the Mo...

In this week's roundup Jason and Santi are joined by Blockworks research analyst Matt Fiebach to unpack USDe, crypto's latest high yield synthetic dollar. They dig into Ethena lab's latest token aiming to offer high yields from basis trading strategies. The conversation then delves into the implications of Gauntlet's departure from Aave, highlighting the challenges of DAO governance and the dynami...

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 th...

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,...

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...

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:...

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 manage...

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 Eth...

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...

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...