Hivemind: Ethena Founder, the GENIUS Act & Overvalued L1s

This week, the Hivemind team is joined by Guy Young, founder of Ethena, to discuss the launch of their $360M ENA vehicle, the structural challenges in altcoin market flows, the evolving use cases for stablecoins, and why Athena’s yield-based model positions it as a more scalable solution than USDC. They also unpack the impact of the Genius Act on U.S. stablecoin regulation, the long-term overvaluation of L1s like ETH and SOL, and how the market structure is shifting toward revenue-generating apps like Hyperliquid. Enjoy! -- Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross and David Canellis. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire -- Follow Guy: https://x.com/gdog97_ Follow Ceteris: https://x.com/ceterispar1bus Follow Jose: https://x.com/ZeMariaMacedo Follow Yan: https://x.com/YanLiberman Follow Duncan: https://x.com/FloodCapital Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4jYEkBx Subscribe on Apple: https://bit.ly/3ECSmJ3 Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hzy9lH -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (1:27) Ethena & its New Treasury Vehicle (8:26) Competing with Other Stables (18:38) The Genius Act & Its Implications (35:18) ETH & Treasury Vehicles (40:20) The Future of Altcoins & L1s (42:24) Ethena & the Futures Market (44:16) L1 Valuations (52:17) Pump.Fun ICO (1:10:10) Final Thoughts -- 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, the Hivemind team, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.