In this deep dive episode, Brandon Curtis (Rio), Myles O'Neil (Reverie), and Ryan West (Blockworks Research) unpack the emerging world of restaking on Ethereum. The conversation starts with a detailed look at the restaking supply chain, from ETH deposits in LRTs to securing AVSs. The group discusses the key differences between LRTs and LSTs, yield …

In this episode, Jason sits down with Jake Brukhman and Seth Ginns, co-founders and managing partners at CoinFund. They dive deep into CoinFund's origin story, investment philosophy, and how the firm navigates the complex landscape of liquid and venture investing in the crypto space. Jake and Seth share their insights on the current crypto market c…

This week we discuss the current state of crypto after the weekend flash crash. As Bitcoin struggles to break $70,000 with conviction, will the 2024 halving be a strong catalyst for more bullish price action going forward? We also walk through some of crypto's most promising use cases: Ondo, Hyperliquid & Ethena. Enjoy! -- Follow Avi: https://twitt…

In this episode, Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, dives deep into the world of Layer 3 blockchains and their potential to revolutionize Ethereum scaling. The discussion covers the benefits of building on Arbitrum's customizable L3 stack, including reduced onboarding costs and improved data availability. Steven also explores the import…

In this roundup, Santi and Jason dive into the implications of Uniswap receiving a Wells notice from the SEC and the departure drama at MarginFi. The conversation then shifts to the upcoming Bitcoin halving, and the potential price implications. They also discuss the launch of Karak, a new universal restaking protocol, and compare its approach to E…

In this episode, Matt and Amine, co-founders of Arch, discuss how the Taproot upgrade and Ordinals have enabled programmability and DeFi on the Bitcoin base layer. They explain Arch's novel approach to bringing smart contract functionality to Bitcoin without compromising on security by using a UTXO model, a ZKVM for parallel transaction execution, …

Subscribe to the Empire Newsletter! https://empire-31ed59.beehiiv.com/subscribe In this week's roundup Jason and Santi dive into the latest developments in the crypto space, including the Wormhole and Ethena airdrop, the resurgence of meme coins, and the debate around L3s. They discuss the risks and centralization issues with current L2s, the overl…

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,…

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 r…

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 f…

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 sta…

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…

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…

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 ince…

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, …

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 ref…

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:…

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 touche…

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…

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 the…

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 …

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/AviFelma…

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 parall…

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, highlighti…

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 …

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 …

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 m…

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 Follo…

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 …

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 institution…

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 Dymensio…

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 oncha…

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, an…

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 Solan…

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…

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 val…

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 a…

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.…

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 w…

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 stra…

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. Anat…

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 i…

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, regu…

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 ex…

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…

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 …

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 t…

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…

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 platfor…

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 t…