
Policy Series: How to Combat Illicit Finance Without Killing DeFi | Rebecca Rettig & Miller Whitehouse-Levine
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 DeFi participation. Rebecca breaks down her recently published paper “Genuine DeFi as Critical Infrastructure” offering a conceptual framework for regulation that leverages DeFi’s transparency while allowing permissionless systems to thrive. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Rebecca: https://twitter.com/RebeccaRettig1 Follow Miller: https://twitter.com/millercwl Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - This episode is brought to you by Chainalysis. Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, web3 companies, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and business intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases. For more information, visit www.Chainalysis.com/empire - - Timestamps (0:00) Origin of DeFi Education Fund (6:10) DeFi Regulatory Framework Paper (12:35) Educating Regulators (17:45) Onchain Illicit Activity (28:59) Chainalysis Ad (30:04) Compromise for States (41:52) How Important is US Policy (51:17) Role of Coinbase & Circle (1:00:42) SEC Proposed Rule - - Resources Paper https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4607332 DeFi Education Fund https://www.defieducationfund.org/ - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
17 Helmi 20241h 19min

Revisiting ICO's and Unpacking Why Restaking isn't Leverage | Roundup
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. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Wormhole is a decentralized interoperability platform powering multi-chain applications and bridges. It provides developers with access to liquidity and users on over 30 leading blockchain networks, enabling use cases in DeFi, data queries, and governance. The platform is trusted by teams like Uniswap and Circle and, to date, the platform has facilitated the transfer of over 35 billion dollars through over 850 million cross-chain messages. Claim your unique Wormhole NFT at https://wormhole.com/empire5-3349 - - Send your crypto to your PayPal account, swap it for PYUSD, and use it to checkout at millions of stores. Pay how you want by getting started at: https://blckwrks.co/PYUSD - - Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use EMPIRE10 to get 10% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there! Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home - - Timestamps: (0:00) Top News this Week (4:10) Market Thoughts (10:00) Importance of ETF Inflows (21:12) Starkware Airdrop Controversy (27:06) The ICO Era & Current Venture (42:25) Wormhole Ad (43:51) Paypal ad (44:50) Is Restaking Leverage? (55:00) Thoughts on Farcaster - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
16 Helmi 20241h 16min

We're Back! Why We Are Bullish | 1000x
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 to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Referenced In The Show: Bitcoin ETF Flow: https://farside.co.uk/?p=997 -- Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (1:30) Why We Are Bullish (9:07) Don't Fight The Flows (14:16) Trading Bitcoin's $50,000 Breakout (24:37) Crypto Is Underowned (33:31) The Bull Case In 2024 -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on 1000x is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Avi, Jonah and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
15 Helmi 202444min

Can a KYC'ed L2 Chain Unlock the Next Wave of Crypto Adoption? | Ramon Recuero, Kinto Co-Founder
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 into all of this and much more! - - Follow Ramon: https://twitter.com/ramonrecuero Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all. Get started at: portal.arbitrum.io - - Harpie is the most advanced on-chain security solution for monitoring and protecting your crypto wallet from theft in real time. Harpie detects, blocks, and recovers compromised assets from malicious transactions before they execute, and is the only security tool to also protect users from off-chain signature attacks like the recent Ledger Connect Kit exploit. Secure your wallet for free at harpie.io. - - Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use EMPIRE10 to get 10% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there! Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home - - Timestamps: (00:00) Kinto Overview (15:00) KYC Requirements & Security (19:13) The Ideal Kinto Customer (26:02) Regulatory Pressure Protection (28:10) Arbitrum Ad (28:58) Harpie Ad (30:12) Kinto Product Today (36:48) Costs & Value of KYC (43:41) RWA Products (48:40) Kinto Adoption - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
13 Helmi 202452min

The Convo: Unpacking the Solana Outage, Crypto & AI, and Blast Vision
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 maintain composability long-term. To close out the trio explore the intersection of AI and Crypto, analyzing whether crypto can successfully compete with big tech for AI development or risk being too decentralized to keep pace. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Tommy: https://twitter.com/Shaughnessy119 Follow Ryan: https://twitter.com/kukulabanze Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use EMPIRE10 to get 10% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there! Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home - - Timestamps: (0:00) The Solana Outage (15:40) Value flows of Ethereum & DA Layers (26:56) DAS London Ad (27:52) Ethereum Scalability Roadmap (37:31) Intersection of AI and Crypto (58:33) Sustainability of Token Incentives (1:11:14) Santi's Blast Thesis (1:21:29) 2024 Thesis - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
9 Helmi 20241h 30min

Are Farcaster and Airdrops Worth the Hype? | Roundup
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://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Wormhole is a decentralized interoperability platform powering multi-chain applications and bridges. It provides developers with access to liquidity and users on over 30 leading blockchain networks, enabling use cases in DeFi, data queries, and governance. The platform is trusted by teams like Uniswap and Circle and, to date, the platform has facilitated the transfer of over 35 billion dollars through over 850 million cross-chain messages. Claim your unique Wormhole NFT at https://wormhole.com/empire4-6823 - - Send your crypto to your PayPal account, swap it for PYUSD, and use it to checkout at millions of stores. Pay how you want by getting started at: https://blckwrks.co/PYUSD - - Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use EMPIRE10 to get 10% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there! Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home - - Timestamps: (00:00) Frostbite & Santi's Status (04:33) Thoughts on Farcaster & Decentralized Social (25:40) Wormhole Ad (27:06) Paypal Ad (28:04) Dymension Airdrop & Overview (39:05) NFT Communities & Rewarding Holders (44:36) Debating Airdrops (50:26) Staking & ETF Synergy (56:35) Mass Adoption Cycle? - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
9 Helmi 20241h 2min

The Rise of Frames, Farcaster, and Headless Marketplaces | Jesse Walden & Antonio Martínez
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 onchain protocols and how frames allow embedded experiences inside applications, enabling seamless transactions and viral growth. Stick around for all of this and much more! - Follow Jesse: https://twitter.com/jessewldn Follow Antonio: https://twitter.com/antoniogm Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all. Get started at: portal.arbitrum.io - - Harpie is the most advanced on-chain security solution for monitoring and protecting your crypto wallet from theft in real time. Harpie detects, blocks, and recovers compromised assets from malicious transactions before they execute, and is the only security tool to also protect users from off-chain signature attacks like the recent Ledger Connect Kit exploit. Secure your wallet for free at harpie.io. - - Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use EMPIRE10 to get 10% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there! Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home - - Timestamps (01:51) Headless Marketplaces (13:50) Embedded Experiences in Applications (18:58) Permissionless Composability of App Experiences (28:26) Frames & Farcaster Overview (37:05) Arbitrum Ad (37:52) Harpie Ad (39:07) Company Adoption (52:52) Importance of Brand (58:55) Ownership Economy Thesis - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
6 Helmi 20241h 6min

Chain Abstraction is NEAR | Illia Polosukhin, Co-Founder
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 generation replacing traditional SaaS companies, and the intriguing concept of an 'AI president' in forward-thinking governance. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Illia: https://twitter.com/ilblackdragon Follow Spencer: https://twitter.com/0xpibblez Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Wormhole is a decentralized interoperability platform powering multi-chain applications and bridges. It provides developers with access to liquidity and users on over 30 leading blockchain networks, enabling use cases in DeFi, data queries, and governance. The platform is trusted by teams like Uniswap and Circle and, to date, the platform has facilitated the transfer of over 35 billion dollars through over 850 million cross-chain messages. Claim your unique Wormhole NFT at https://wormhole.com/empire3-6877 - - Send your crypto to your PayPal account, swap it for PYUSD, and use it to checkout at millions of stores. Pay how you want by getting started at: https://blckwrks.co/PYUSD - - Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use EMPIRE10 to get 10% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there! Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home - - Timestamps: (01:58) Illia's Return to CEO & NEAR's Recap (05:55) Focus on Chain Abstraction (09:41) Evolution of NEAR Sharding (18:57) Account Aggregation Thesis (30:11) Modular vs Monolothic Approach (35:04) DA Landscape (39:41) Record Consumer Usage (43:06) Wormhole Ad (44:32) Paypal Ad (45:31) Owning Your Data & AI Usecase (49:43) Onboarding Web2 Companies (51:58) The Account Aggregation Flow (57:51) NEAR BD Strategy (01:04:45) Why does AI matter? - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
2 Helmi 20241h 20min





















