Empire

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 importance of fraud proofs in ensuring the security of L2 and L3 chains, as well as Arbitrum's community-sourced approach to blockchain development. The conversation touches on the future of DeFi, the role of composability and network effects, and the potential for L3s to abstract away the complexity of the blockchain stack for end-users. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Steven: https://twitter.com/sgoldfed 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  - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption. Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork - - Marinade is the leading Solana staking service that spreads your stake across 100+ top validators, distributes MEV rewards, and provides automatic downside protection with new Protected Staking Rewards. Choose to liquid stake for mSOL for use in DeFi, or delegate your stake through Marinade Native, which gives you full custody of your SOL and no smart contract risk. Max performance for you, max performance for Solana. https://blckwrks.co/Marinade - - Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:52 L2 State of the Union 08:07 L2 vs L3 14:00 User Acquisition Methodology 18:30 Value Accrual of L3s m 24:20 App Chain vs L3 28:46 Not Using Eth Security 36:33 Fraud Proofs 38:21 Arbitrum Ad 49:09 Monad Ad 50:07 SKALE AD 51:24 Higher Throughput Chains 58:31 Why did Coinbase pick OP 01:03:55 End Game of L3s 01:08:06 Why Not Just L1s? 01:14:57 Crypto Network Effects - - 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 Apr 20241h 27min

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 Eigen Layer. Finally, they break down the significance of BlackRock tokenizing treasuries on Ethereum through a partnership with Circle. Thanks for tuning in! Subscribe to the Empire Newsletter! https://empire-31ed59.beehiiv.com/subscribe - - 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/ - - 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/empire13-0092 - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:13) Marathons & Injuries (04:22) Uniswap Wells Notice (10:18) Bear and Bull Case of Uniswap Case (20:32) MarginFi Meldown (31:36) Wormhole Ad (33:03) Monad Ad (34:02) Bitcoin Halving Countdown (40:18) TD Bank BTC Video (42:57) Karak Universal Restaking (53:54) Circle USDC & BlackRock BIDL - - 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.

12 Apr 20241h 1min

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, and a Proof-of-Stake verifier network. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/proofofmud Follow Amine: https://twitter.com/amine_elqaraoui 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  - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption. Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork - - Timestamps: (00:00) Bitcoin Activity Origin (08:290 Building on Bitcoin Base Layer (18:11) Network Security & Design (23:13) L1 vs L2 BTC Approach (32:21) Arbitrum Ad (33:09) Monad Ad (34:08) Skale Ad (35:24) Arch GTM Strategy (39:38) 5 Year Vision (46:21) Why Build on Bitcoin (49:00) Key Trust Assumptions (55:28) Developer Experience - - 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 Apr 20241h 1min

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 overlooked opportunities in crypto public markets, and the potential for prediction markets. To close out the duo discuss the launch of new crypto investment platforms Bid Club and Echo. Thanks for tuning in! - - 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/ - - 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/empire12-4893 - - 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) Intro (01:30) Jaded on Airdrops (05:13) Memecoin Hot Takes (14:34) Why Have L3s? (26:18) Apps on L3s (35:50) Wormhole Ad (37:17) Monad Ad (38:17) Risks of L2s (48:11) Private VS Liquid Markets - - 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.

5 Apr 20241h 8min

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, you'll have to tune in. -- 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/ -- Perennial is an on-chain derivatives protocol built from first principles to be a DeFi primitive. The core protocol is minimalist, flexible, and efficient, allowing Perennial to mold to the needs of many different users & use cases. Perennial has a super efficient core protocol that lets LPs use native maker leverage — allowing $1mn in TVL to back to $5-10mn in Open interest. Trade and LP at: https://perennial.finance/1000x -- Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (3:50) The Ethereum vs Solana Debate (15:27) Perennial Ad (16:58) Ethereum Needs A Catalyst (24:44) Is Retail Coming Back This Cycle? (30:12) The Wormhole Airdrop (33:43) Value Accrual In This Crypto Cycle (39:28) NFTs (42:18) Wen Buy Dips, Wen Take Profits? (49:23) Where Are We In The Cycle? -- 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.

4 Apr 202455min

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 revolutionize global finance. Kyle shares his insights on the end state of L1 blockchains, the role of interoperability, and where value may ultimately accrue in the crypto stack. Along the way, they debate the relative importance of technological innovation versus monetary characteristics in driving value. Although our guest this week is a Managing Partner of a registered investment adviser, nothing in this podcast should be considered an offer of Multicoin’s investment advisory services or should otherwise be confused for investment, tax, legal or other financial advice. -- Follow Kyle: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani Follow Hart: https://twitter.com/hal2001 Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9 Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmD Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- - - - 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  - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption. Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (03:20) Interview Start: Kyle Samani (6:53) Network Effects & Blockchains (20:57) Blockchain Based Games & Social Apps 29:12 Arbitrum Ad 29:58 Monad Ad 30:57 SKALE Ad (32:14) Integrated vs Modular (34:46) Protocol vs Token Network Effects (57:16) End State of L1s (1:10:38) Outro - - 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 Apr 20241h 22min

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 future. Kathy shares her views on the misallocation of capital post the 2008 financial crisis and why volatility is part of the price paid for exposure to the new asset class of crypto. Ophelia provides insights into running crypto ETFs and the regulatory landscape around getting them approved. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Cathie: https://twitter.com/cathiedwood Follow Ophelia: https://twitter.com/OpheliaBSnyder 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 & the newly launching Empire newsletter! https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ https://empire-31ed59.beehiiv.com/subscribe - - 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/empire11-3411 - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - Shardeum is an EVM-based autoscaling blockchain Learn more and spin up your node today: bit.ly/shardeum-blockworks-1 - - Get the freshest price feeds free for 12 months. Join Supra’s early integration program for zero-cost access to the fastest oracles and dVRF across 50+ blockchains: supra.com/blockworks Earn $1,500 by referring Web3 projects to use Supra services. The projects get the fastest services for free, and you earn $1,500 for every referral. Learn more at the link above. - - Timestamps (00:00) Intro (02:13) Monetary Shock to Economic Boom (14:21) Asset Managers & Crypto Adoption (23:12) Explaining Crypto (33:16) Wormhole Ad (34:41) Monad Ad (35:41) Shardeum Ad (36:36) Supra Ad (37:33) Importance of Wirehouses (47:54) ETH & Alt Coin ETF Demand - - 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.

29 Mar 20241h 5min

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 staking and restaking, and the potential impact of ETFs. Jason and Santi also reflect on the rewarding experience of connecting with Empire podcast listeners at the event. Finally, they announce the upcoming launch of the Empire newsletter! - - 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 & the newly launching Empire newsletter! https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ https://empire-31ed59.beehiiv.com/subscribe - - 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. - - Get the freshest price feeds free for 12 months. Join Supra’s early integration program for zero-cost access to the fastest oracles and dVRF across 50+ blockchains: supra.com/blockworks Earn $1,500 by referring Web3 projects to use Supra services. The projects get the fastest services for free, and you earn $1,500 for every referral. Learn more at the link above. - - Timestamps (00:00) Intro (01:43) DAS London Recap (13:23) Where are we in the cycle? (22:22) Why are Founders in Crypto? (30:43) Arbitrum Ad (31:31) Harpie Ad (32:45) Supra Ad (33:43) Financialization of Everything (40:35) Big Themes from DAS (48:47) Empire Meetup - - 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.

26 Mar 202458min