Empire

Signature and Silicon Valley Bank have collapsed. In this breaking news episode, hosts Jason Yanowitz and Jack Farley interview Joseph Wang to discuss the banking system failures and what to expect next. Joseph dives deep into the risk both banks took by not hedging interest rate risk, how this could have been avoided and whether other banks are in a similar position? We then discuss if the Fed's...

In today's episode of Empire, we start with Jason's big takeaways from ETH Denver. What was the vibe? What innovations are on the horizon? And most interesting, what crypto sector was conspicuously missing from the conversation? We then discuss Silvergate's unwind, Coinbase's wallet announcement (bullish), Amazon NFT rumors, MakerDAO's 1.25B treasury proposal and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Intr...

In this episode of Empire, we are joined by one of crypto's best traders: Dan Matuszewski. Dan is the founder of CMS, a crypto OG and a prolific trader/investor. We discuss upcoming catalysts, the Coinbase trade, punting on L1s vs L2s, lending markets, what it's like managing a crypto fund and more. This is one of my favorite conversations that you won't want to miss! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Intro...

In this episode of Empire, Muneeb Ali, the founder of Stacks, joins us to discuss Bitcoin's sudden transformation. Until the last two months, Bitcoin was (perceived as) simply a store of value, a religion. However, Ordinals, a Bitcoin NFT project, has redirected the spotlight to Bitcoin’s underlying tech and utility - a technology that can support NFTs, DeFi and more. Muneeb provides his unique in...

In this episode of Empire, Darren Langley (Rocketpool) and John Zettler (Coinbase) join us to discuss why liquid staking is taking over Ethereum. We start with the LSD landscape, how cbETH and Rocketpool approach product strategy, and Lido's dominance. Then we get into the real fun stuff. Darren and John explain the 2/3rd order effects of the Shanghai upgrade, how to drive on-chain liquidity, the...

In today's episode of Empire, we discuss Coinbase's journey to become the default gateway to crypto with their new L2. Jason and Santi delve into Coinbase's secret master plan, the impact of Base on Arbitrum and Optimism and the current state of on-chain creativity. Warning: we are bullish. We also cover the recent layoffs and reorgs at Polygon, the closure of Galois Capital, a new CBDC proposal a...

Breaking News: Coinbase is launching an L2 on Ethereum called Base! Jesse and Will from Coinbase join us to discuss the news and paradigm shift for Coinbase. We explore why Coinbase is building Base, how Coinbase chose to use the OP tech stack, Base's value proposition, how Coinbase thinks about "competition" building on Base, if Base will have a token and more! -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction...

In this episode of Empire, Pacman (Blur's founder) joins Jason and Santi to discuss how Blur, an NFT marketplace for professional traders, has revolutionized the NFT market. We discuss Blur's business strategy, vertical vs horizontal markets, the creator royalty debate, Blur vs OpenSea and more! This is one of my favorite episodes yet - Pacman is a giga brain. - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction...

In today’s episode of Empire, we start with a deep regulatory discussion with Kristin Smith and Rebecca Rettig to explore Gary's attack on crypto. We cover the SEC's attack against Kraken and BUSD, tokens as securities, market implications, what to expect next and more! Santi and Jason co-pilot the last 25 minutes to discuss Blur's airdrop, the battle for NFT market share, the L2 wars and Flashbot...

In this episode of Empire, Camilla McFarland and Avery Akkineni discuss how the world's biggest brands will leverage Web3. Nike, Starbucks, Gucci and many others are already starting to build in crypto, and soon, every brand will have a Web3 strategy. Camilla and Avery explore how brands can leverage Web3 to build customer loyalty, customize user experiences and cater to a digitally-native communi...

There's a heated debate in crypto right now around AppChains and the modular vs monolithic paradigm. That's why we released this special episode today from our other favorite podcast, Bell Curve. Sunny Aggarwal and Dmitriy Berenzon discuss how AppChains enable developers and protocols to customize consensus, cryptography, MEV rules, fees and more. But is this customization worth the fragmentation,...

In this episode of Empire, Sam Kazemian joins Jason and Dan to discuss Frax's mission to build the most widely used stablecoins in DeFi. Sam starts by explaining how Frax has succeeded while other stable protocols have failed, why Frax is eyeing Fed deposits and the strategy behind the "DeFi Trinity". We then explore Frax's new ETH staking product, the stablecoin trilemma, and Sam drops a new prod...

In today’s episode of Empire, we discuss how crypto startups are running out of cash. Will more companies quietly shut down, and how will the survivors navigate the market? One group of people can strongly impact this outcome: Crypto VCs. We explore what decisions these VCs are facing, if they'll be able to raise funds from LPs, their hardest challenges and more! This is a short episode that's pac...

In this episode of Empire, Hal Press joins Mike and Jason to discuss his investment thesis. It's no secret that Hal is an ETH super bull, and this episode makes it clear why. He explains ETH's unfair advantage, how L2s will serve as free marketing for Ethereum, the liquidity staking derivative trade, the mechanics behind token rallies, token value accrual and the deflationary outlook! Get ready, t...

In today’s episode of Empire, we discuss how we've just entered the third phase of the bear market. A phase marked by apathy. We explore what this means for builders, investors and the industry. If you're still here (in crypto), you don't want to miss this. We then cover why Aptos' price is pumping, Circles CCTP news, the controversial Doodles announcement and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introdu...

In this episode of Empire, Sreeram Kannan and Calvin Liu explain how EigenLayer creates a market for decentralized trust to enable permissionless infrastructure innovation. We explore EigenLayer's core use cases, slashing mechanics, economic incentives, re-staking risks and more. EigenLayer might be the most underrated project in Ethereum right now. Tune in to find out why! - - Timestamps: (00:00)...

In this episode of Empire, Qiao explains the upcoming Wallet Wars. Wallets are the decentralized access point for crypto, and the battle for distribution is about to get wild. Listen in to learn about the SuperApp Thesis, account abstraction, the battle for attention, wallet value capture and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:50) The Fat Wallet Thesis (04:11) How Wallets Have Evolved...

In this episode of Empire, Emin Gün Sirer and John Wu explain why Avalanche is the most scalable, decentralized L1. We start with why developers choose Avalanche, then quickly transition into the L2 debate. Emin explains why Subnets are superior and how the L2 vision and L2 reality are miles apart. We also talk about Avalanche's consensus engine, business development, the multichain future and mor...

In today’s episode of Empire, we discuss the upcoming Shanghai upgrade and Lido's liquid staking monopoly. What will happen to stake rates once withdrawals are enabled? Will LSD providers steal market share from Lido? We also discuss Genesis' terrible GBTC trade, why we're feeling optimistic, FTX recovering $5B, Japan's most popular blockchain and how people still underestimate the power of BD in...

In this episode of Empire, Colleen Sullivan and Peter Johnson join us to discuss their predictions for 2023. We cover the future of NFTs, gaming, trading infrastructure, stablecoins, regulation, AppChains and more! This episode is packed with insights from two top VCs in crypto - you won't want to miss it. - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:04) Why Choose Optimism (04:22) Stablecoin Volumes...

In today’s episode of Empire, Santi and Jason go full Michael Scott by hosting the Annual Empire Awards. We discuss our favorite projects of 2022, our wildest predictions, the most overhyped section of crypto, the best unsexy ideas and so much more! We then get personal by discussing our worst investment in 2022, our best/worst new habits, our favorite app and our personal goals for 2023. Don't mi...

In today’s episode of Empire, we bring on Mike and Mark from On The Margin to discuss our 2023 crypto thesis. We debate predictions on the Wallet Wars, ETH vs Bitcoin, the rise of insurance, app-specific vertical integration, the adoption of CBDCs, Coinbase vs DEXs, MEV as a business model and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:14) Crypto’s 2022 Wrapped (11:52) The Bottom is in for Cry...

In today’s episode of Empire, we explore the state of the crypto market. We discuss where we are in the market cycle, the investment landscape, why 2023 could be a blood bath for crypto startups and why there's reason to be optimistic. You don’t want to miss this section. We then talk through Visa’s new payments deployment on Starknet, the power of account abstraction, Yuga Labs’ big hire, DCG’s o...

In this episode of Empire, Simon Jones joins us to discuss DeFi's interest rate opportunity. A year ago, DeFi's meme was, "Why earn .01% in your bank account when you can earn 20%+ in DeFi". Fast forward to today, and TradFi offers higher yields than DeFi. Did we get rugged, or what's the new opportunity? Tune in as we explore the correlation between TradFi and DeFi rates, DeFi's low cost-of-capit...

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Avi Felman and Jonah Van Bourg to discuss their new podcast 1000x and the state of crypto markets. Avi and Jonah explain their trading mindset, how to evaluate the buyers/sellers in the market, crypto's investment cycle, how catastrophe creates opportunity and more! A new 1000x episode will drop on Empire's RSS feed and the 1000x YouTube channel every...