Roundup: BlockFi Down Round | DAOs Scrambling | Cynthia Lummis Bill | FTX vs Coinbase

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Mike discuss the current state of crypto. It's officially a bear market, so how are companies and DAOs responding? What are the stories that you need to know? Tune in to find out. Highlights include: Did companies overhire What happens in a down round Why we need to separate investors from traders DAOs look to stables and the need for debt financing The Coinbase vs FTX strategy debate Is the Lummis bill good for crypto Enterprise blockchains are back Optimism loses 20M OP tokens ApeCoin DAO sides with Ethereum - - Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ 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 - - Referenced in the show: BlockFi down round https://tinyurl.com/2tej9jyf Novogratz says 2/3 of crypto funds will fail https://tinyurl.com/yh4x2jsu Lido, FEI and Frax proposals https://research.lido.fi/t/lido-to-prepare-for-the-bear-market/2318/5 https://tribe.fei.money/t/tip-110-simplify-pcv/4323 https://gov.frax.finance/t/fip-77-20m-fxs-buyback-program-using-twamm/1523 SBF on Empire https://tinyurl.com/23wp5uza SBF on Invest Like The Best https://tinyurl.com/2p8wsdfe FTX surpasses Coinbase in BTC & ETH spot trading https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/state-of-the-network-issue-158?s=r Coinbase job portal https://coda.io/@coinbase-talent/coinbase-talent-hub/ Richard Burton article on how crypto is like building hardware https://tinyurl.com/ytww6ap7 Tim Beiko on Bankless https://tinyurl.com/2vxmcdux -- BitMEX is back and better than ever. Sign up for BitmEX's new Spot Exchange for a chance to win a piece of $500,000 in BTC (new users). Learn more about them at https://www.bitmex.com/ -- Timestamps (00:00) Introduction (02:45) Down Rounds, Layoffs and Hiring Freezes (16:40) An Investor Reckoning? (18:20) Separating Investors vs Traders (20:05) Frothy Private Markets (23:50) DAO Treasuries and Debt Financing (27:53) Questioning Token Buybacks (32:30) Bitmex Ad (33:33) FTX Surpassing Coinbase (40:15) Cynthia Lummis Bill (45:15) Are Tokens Securities? (48:21) Salesforce and Enterprise Blockchains (56:15) Optimism loses $20M OP tokens (59:45) APE DAO votes on Ethereum (1:03:40) When ETH merge -- 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.