Empire

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 authorized participants source liquidity for the ETF and the real costs involved in running these funds. They also dive into how advisors are rethinking portfolio construction given crypto’s changing risk profile and the potential impacts on Bitcoin price. To close out they discuss the potential timing of an Ethereum ETF approval. Enjoy! - - 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/empire1/ - - 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 - - Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/Matt_Hougan Follow Eric: https://twitter.com/EricBalchunas 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/ - - Timestamps: (01:46) The ETF Guys & Free Milkshakes (04:05) BTC ETF Underwhelming? (12:13) The ETF Launch Process (18:49) Costs of an ETF Service (22:10) What does Buying an ETF Mean? (30:31) Wormhole Ad (31:57) Paypal Ad (32:55) Impact of ETF Flows on Bitcoin Price (36:56) Role of Bitcoin in Portfolios (47:15) Eth ETF Predictions - - 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.

19 Jan 202455min

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. They also discuss trading volume and flows, the potential pathway for an Ethereum ETF, and the broader significance of crypto assets becoming embedded in mainstream finance. Hear all of this and much more! - - Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/Sonnenshein 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: 01:43 Behind the Scenes of ETF Victory 06:06 The Fee Battles 11:07 Implications of the ETF 15:59 Arbitrum Ad 16:44 Harpie Ad 18:00 Outflows & Trading Volume 24:02 Grayscale Roadmap - - 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 Jan 202428min

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 war between issuers as they slash prices to as low as 0.15% to stay competitive. We also dive into Coinbase's role as custodian for 9 of the 11 approved ETFs and discuss why their stock price surprisingly dropped. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Casey: https://twitter.com/caseywagnerr Follow Ben: https://twitter.com/strack_ben 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/ - - 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 - - Resources Bitwise Survey https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.bitwiseinvestments.com/Research/The-Bitwise-VettaFi-2023-Benchmark-Survey.pdf - - Timestamps: (01:24) ETF Approval History (10:04) The Fee Battles & ETF Customers (15:10) Grayscale Pivoting GBTC (19:18) Flow and AUM Predictions (24:09) DAS 2024 (25:24) PayPal Ad (26:22) ETH ETF Outlook (29:08) Coinbase Stock Pullback (31:24) SEC Prosecution Impact (36:59) Circle IPO - - 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 Jan 202442min

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 strategy, surviving previous bear markets, narrative trading in crypto & what to expect in 2024 post Bitcoin ETF approval. -- Follow CMS: https://twitter.com/cmsholdings 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/ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:44) Trading Crypto Cycles (09:48) CMS's Trading Strategy (11:12) Surviving The 2022 Bear Market (20:09) The BTC/Alt Rotation (24:54) Trading The 2024 Cycle (28:44) GBTC (31:40) Narratives In Crypto (39:05) Getting Rugged (41:56) Crypto's 2017 Mania -- 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.

11 Jan 202448min

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. Anatoly elaborates on the network effects of open-sourcing core technology like the SVM, while Ben highlights mobile adoption and NFTs as driving new crypto demand. They debate the trajectory for permissionless finance to run mainstream markets on Solana, and whether the Saga phone can make a dent in Apple and Google's distribution monopolies. We hope you enjoy! - - Follow Anatoly: https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko 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 (02:00) The Solana Recovery Post SBF (10:30) Priorities for Solana Development (22:14) The Next Gen L1 Case for Builders (24:56) Economics of the SVM (34:17) State of Solana Fee Market (48:18) Inflation & Staking Dynamics (51:17) DAS 2024 (52:32) Arbitrum Ad (53:18) Harpie Ad (54:32) Open Source & Security Approach (01:02:02) Governance & Alignment (01:12:25) The Value of Permisionless Systems (01:19:04) Saga Mobile Strategy & Potential (01:25:14) Remaining Moonshot Ideas - - 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 Jan 20241h 33min

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 in-depth analysis of the emerging trend of "restaking" protocols and discuss concerns about adding fragility and centralization risks. To close out they discuss the pending SEC decisions around several Bitcoin ETF filings . Thanks for tuning in! - - 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/ - - 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 - - Resources Andrew Kang Post https://x.com/Rewkang/status/1742011188609712263 Marginal Revolution: Automatic Tax Filing? https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2022/05/automatic-tax-filing.html - - Timestamps (00:00) Buying Nike Sneakers & Meeting Fashion (02:51) The Market Nuke (10:51) Using Leverage vs Holding Spot (27:32) ETF Updates (34:07) Crypto Tax Reporting Obligations (42:12) Restaking: A Risk? - - 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 Jan 20241h 3min

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, regulatory risks, social fi, and end with price targets. Don't miss their unfiltered predictions for 2024. - - 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/ - - 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 EMPIRE20 to get 20% 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 - - Resources https://www.helius.dev/blog/what-is-firedancer - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:20) 2024: The Risk On Year (03:39) Solana Closes in on MC of Eth (10:00) Growth of NFTs (13:13) Unicorns made in Solana (15:55) Bitcoin Wakes Up (18:58) A Restaking Bug & Hottest Narrative (22:19) AI Peak Mania (25:19) Does OG DeFi Comeback? (33:00) DAS 2024 (34:17) Harpie Ad (35:32) L2 Predictions (40:32) Coinbase Becomes a Bank (48:13) Biggest Catalyst in Crypto (57:49) NFA Price Predictions - - 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 Jan 20241h 8min

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 extends to AI regulation, non-deterministic AI's issues in production, and AI model insurance. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Casey: https://twitter.com/caseykcaruso Follow Daniel: https://twitter.com/realDanielShorr 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 EMPIRE20 to get 20% 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 (00:02) Evolution and State of AI (18:03) Model Specialization (30:37) Productization of AI (34:46) Crypto & AI Intersection (49:34) DAS 2024 (50:51) How Real is AI & Crypto (01:00:08) Performant Blockchains vs Ethereum (01:09:32) Decentralized Compute & Equitable GPU Access (01:17:18) First Crypto & AI Unlocks (01:32:18) AI & Crypto Debate - - 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 Des 20231h 40min