Empire

In this episode of Empire, Arianna Simpson and Ali Yahya join to discuss a16z's crypto thesis. We start with Ali's network flywheel framework, the future of interoperability and protocol value capture. Do protocols have moats? Is the L1 trade over? Will applications accrue an outsized share of crypto's value? We then discuss DAO governance, music NFTs, zero-knowledge proofs and crypto's open design space. This is one of those can't-miss episodes! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:14) Crypto's Network Flywheel (08:40) Is The L1 Trade Over? (20:52) a16z’s Value Accrual Framework (28:03) Circle ad (29:45) Infrastructure Unlocks (37:55) a16z’s Governance & DAO Philosophy (44:33) Evolution of Web3 Gaming (49:19) Music NFTs (55:22) ZK Proofs & Building Privacy Into Blockchains (1:00:33) What Feels Obvious That Others Are Missing? - - Follow Arianna https://twitter.com/AriannaSimpson Follow Ali: https://twitter.com/alive_eth 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/ -- Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at http://empirepodcast.link/circle that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is. - - Resources Ali's network flywheel tweet thread https://twitter.com/alive_eth/status/1296831069065375749 Computers That Can Make Commitments (Chris Dixon) https://a16z.com/2020/01/27/computers-that-make-commitments/ The Fat Protocol Thesis https://www.usv.com/writing/2016/08/fat-protocols/ The Internet Economy https://cdixon.org/2016/03/13/the-internet-economy Commoditize Your Complements https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2002/06/12/strategy-letter-v/ The Myth of The Infrastructure Phase https://www.usv.com/writing/2018/10/the-myth-of-the-infrastructure-phase/ 1000 True Fans https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ - - 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. Disclaimer: Scammers are impersonating Blockworks and replying to comments on some of our videos. Please be advised that we will NEVER reply to your comment asking you to contact us on whatsapp, telegram, provide investment advice, or solicit money from you. These are scam impersonator accounts and you should not respond to them.

7 Nov 20221h 6min

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, we bring on Matthew Blumberg and Byron Gilliam to discuss how J.P. Morgan - the largest bank in the US - just made history. What happened? J.P. Morgan executed their first trade on a public blockchain (sup Polygon) using an Aave Arc clone. Tune in to find out what happened, why J.P. Morgan chose Polygon, how enterprise crypto adoption will likely play out and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (00:42) JP Morgan’s Aave Trade, What Happened? (10:53) Permissioned DeFi, Why Do This On-Chain? (25:09) The Aave Mafia (26:08) Will Polygon Remain "Loyal" To Ethereum? (31:50) Why J.P. Morgan Chose Polygon (37:51) Social Media Is Adopting Web3 - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/matt_blumberg Follow Byron: https://twitter.com/bgilliam1982 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/ - - Resources Decent Crypto Podcast (hosted by Matt) https://spoti.fi/3FKxBJW Ty Lobban's tweet thread on the J.P. Morgan trade https://twitter.com/TyLobban/status/1587679344792829954 Erik Voorhees & SBF on Bankless https://spoti.fi/3FIPw3M Sandeep's tweet on Polygon "bringing the world to Ethereum" https://twitter.com/sandeepnailwal/status/1587949120031006721 - - 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.

4 Nov 202242min

In this episode of Empire, Santi is joined by Steven Goldfeder and Raul Jordan to discuss the Prsymatic Labs acquisition and the future of Arbitrum. We cover Arbitrum's approach to state growth, AnyTrust chains, developer usability, ZK tech and more. And trust me, Steven's take on enterprises leveraging crypto is worth staying until the end! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:57) Arbitrum Acquires Prysmatic Labs (09:04) Monetizing Open Source & Building For Ethereum (17:29) State Growth, ZK Tech And L2 Innovations (31:14) Are L2s Ready For Prime Time? (35:51) Circle Ad (37:33) Arbitrum AnyTrust Chains (42:40) User & Developer Acquisition (46:31) What Changed After The Merge? (49:31) Reddit Points & Enterprise Interest (1:00:11) L1 Censorship Risk - - Follow Steven: https://twitter.com/sgoldfed Follow Raul: https://twitter.com/rauljordaneth 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/ -- Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at http://empirepodcast.link/circle that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is. - - Resources Offchain Labs website https://offchainlabs.com/ - - 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.

31 Okt 20221h 7min

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, we discuss Reddit embracing NFTs, Apple's new NFT policy, the future of stablecoins (FedCoin?), Elon's Twitter takeover and more. Tune in for the spiciest stories and takes of the week! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:41) Tech Stocks, VR & Elon Twitter Takeover (14:25) Apple’s NFT Announcement, Bullish? (23:17) Reddit Brings NFTs To $3M+ Users (29:33) What Makes Crypto Special (36:57) FTX Stablecoin Rumors & FedCoin Talk (48:14) Solana Virtual Machine Alpha  - - Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel  Follow Garrett: https://twitter.com/G_C_Harp 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/  --  Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at http://empirepodcast.link/circle that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is. - - Resources Vibe Bio Empire Podcast https://spoti.fi/3FnQ2Uk Nudge (book) https://amzn.to/3DbVzuJ Matt Levine's crypto manifesto https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2022-the-crypto-story/ Chris Burniske's tweet on the SVM  https://twitter.com/cburniske/status/1585346624574083072 - -  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.

28 Okt 202250min

In this episode of Empire, Santi is joined by Zack Skelly and Aurora Harshner to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the Web3 talent market. How should employees and companies think about token compensation? Is compensation transparency an opportunity or a liability? How can we bring more talent to crypto? And what should you think about when joining a Web3 company? Tune in for these answers and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (04:23) Crypto's Talent Pool (13:40) What Positions Are Companies Hiring? (22:05) Hiring Anons, DAOs & The Future of Work (29:06) Circle Ad (30:48) Opportunities & Challenges Of Token Compensation (51:53) Back Channeling and References (58:07) Recruiting Tactics (1:03:36) How Do You Convey Culture? - - Follow Zack: https://twitter.com/zorkary Follow Aurora: https://twitter.com/aharshner 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/ -- Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at http://empirepodcast.link/circle that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is. - - Resources Aurora's website https://www.auroraharshner.com/ Dragonfly's Job Board https://jobs.dragonfly.xyz/jobs Dragonfly's Medium https://medium.com/dragonfly-research - - 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.

24 Okt 20221h 13min

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, we discuss the highly contentious launch of Aptos, a new L1 blockchain marketing 160K+ TPS. We debate the bull vs bear case for Aptos and ask, "Do we need another L1 blockchain?". We then discuss SBF's new article on crypto regulation, why data availability matters, Binance voting on behalf of users, AI in crypto and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (10:55) Aptos L1, Bull vs Bear (17:33) SBF & Crypto Regulation (29:44) Binance Voting on Uniswap With User Tokens (37:51) What Is Celestia And Data Availability? (45:54) AI Is Coming For Crypto - - Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Garrett: https://twitter.com/G_C_Harp 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/ -- Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at http://empirepodcast.link/circle that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is. - - Resources Michelle on Empire https://spoti.fi/3MQDWVz Possible Digital Asset Industry Standards (SBF article) https://www.ftxpolicy.com/posts/possible-digital-asset-industry-standards Dan Smith's tweet thread on Binance & Uniswap https://bit.ly/3Dc8y0C Westie's tweet thread on Eigen Layer https://twitter.com/blockworksres/status/1582379353492496384 The Singularity Is Near (book) https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/83518.The_Singularity_is_Near How To Create A Mind (book) https://bit.ly/3yXEUtm AI Superpowers (book) https://bit.ly/3VDTss1 Storyworthy (book) https://bit.ly/3CIf0Lm - - 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.

21 Okt 202255min

In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Meltem Demirors to discuss the creation and monetization of culture. We explore how culture is already monetized today, just indirectly, and that crypto-based market microstructure will be the catalyst for the fusion of a new culture-meets-capital paradigm. Where is the market shifting today, and what are the biggest opportunities ahead? Trust me, this is a must-listen if you are interested in NFTs, financial markets or the creation of culture. - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:29) Crypto Is A Market Structure Story (06:09) Everything Is Perception & Speculation (12:38) Arbitraging Culture (21:47) Where's The Utility? Culture Is Utility (30:22) Circle Ad (32:05) Why NFT Communities Don’t Scale (36:31) IP, Mimetic Transmission and Community (42:22) Boomer ETH NFTs & Lower Price Points (45:47) The Biggest Opportunities? (57:49) Culture Is Not Emergent, It’s Manufactured (1:08:34) Read Sci-Fi, Here’s Why - - Follow Meltem: https://twitter.com/Melt_Dem 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/ -- Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at http://empirepodcast.link/circle that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is. - - Resources Reminiscences of a Stock Operator https://amzn.to/3rTNWUw A Survey of NFT Licenses: Facts & Fictions (Galaxy) https://bit.ly/3MqIhid -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - 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 Okt 20221h 12min

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi share their thoughts on the state of the market, the endless hacks in crypto and a few of the latest innovations. Santi gives his unique private-market insights, Jason gives a behind-the-scenes look at Blockworks, and the duo discuss the biggest story of the week: the Binance and Mango Markets Exploit. We then discuss the 3 big ZK-rollup announcements (scaling season?), Arbitrum's acquisition, and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:16) What's Changed At Blockworks During The Bear? (06:53) State of Venture, Macro And Crypto Markets (21:39) Does Everything Need A Token? (26:14) Hacks, Exploits And More Hacks (Binance, Mango) (39:43) Yuga Labs & Regulation By Enforcement (48:08) ZK Tech Is Here (51:56) Arbitrum Acquires Prysmatic Labs (55:36) Coinbase News, Stephane Resigns, PayPal & More - - 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 - - Referenced in the show: Cosmos podcast https://spoti.fi/3S3W9zP GCR's "inside job" tweet https://twitter.com/GCRClassic/status/1579837794675216384 Rebecca & Jake regulation podcast https://spoti.fi/3rSZMOw Scroll's zkEVM podcast https://spoti.fi/3rTXO0w Polygon deep dive by Blockworks Research https://bit.ly/3S3Wti1 Starkware podcast https://spoti.fi/3Vqu88v Influence Empire (book) https://bit.ly/3T9CLTc David Marcus tweet criticizing PayPal https://twitter.com/davidmarcus/status/1578795041719750663 -- Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at circle.com/transparency that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is. Learn more at: http://empirepodcast.link/circle --  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/  - -  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.

14 Okt 20221h 4min