Empire

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santiago discuss how to navigate the current bear market. Things aren't looking pretty, but this isn't the team's first rodeo. The duo explores what to expect, how to stay in the game and where opportunities might emerge. Highlights include: where will crypto's total market cap bottom? are Jason and Santi buyers at these prices? why are funds ignoring liquid markets? how founders should approach the bear thoughts on a16z's new $4.5B fund will Coinbase be acquired? and much more - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel 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: Chris Dixon Permissionless Keynote https://youtu.be/Znkpa64J7qA Santi's Coinbase Acquisition Tweet https://twitter.com/santiagoroel/status/1525941336070922242 Bill Gurley's "All In" Panel https://youtu.be/lcyec3pvAEY - - 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/ -- (00:00) Introduction (01:11) Crypto Marketing (04:04) Why Santi Missed Permissionless (05:45) Advice For This Bear Market (17:32) A 16z Raises 4.5B (22:04) How Founders Can Embrace The Bear (26:34) ETH And Assessing Value Today (29:13) Overleveraged (33:05) How Capital Calls Work (34:55) Will Funds Leave The Space? (37:00) Bitmex Ad (38:02) When Do You Buy? (45:10) Stay In The Game? (47:16) Coinbase Acquisition Thesis (53:07) Three Leading Indicators (54:07) Smaller Funds Underwater (57:35) Liquid Assets Have Been Ignored (1:00:27) Investing Isn't Easy

27 Mai 20221h 5min

In today’s episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by the founders of Scroll - Sandy Peng, Ye Zhang and Haichen Shen - to discuss how ZK tech will scale Ethereum. Scroll is a general-purpose zkEVM rollup that combines Ethereum’s security with drastically reduced fees and low latency. We start the conversation with a deep dive into zero-knowledge tech, the power of validity proofs and the different L2 scaling techniques. The team then explains Scroll's advantage, the difficulty of building a general-purpose L2 and why Scroll’s “EVM equivalence” is a massive breakthrough for Ethereum developers. Scroll has been flying under the radar, but they won’t be for long. Don’t miss this conversation on the most sci-fi tech in crypto. - - Follow Scroll: https://twitter.com/Scroll_ZKP Follow Sandy: https://twitter.com/SandyPeng1 Follow Ye: https://twitter.com/yezhang1998 Follow Haichen: https://twitter.com/shenhaichen Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices and lowest slippage. -- Referenced in the show: Layer-2 for beginners https://gourmetcrypto.substack.com/p/layer-2-for-beginners?s=r Optimistic vs ZK Rollups https://blog.matter-labs.io/optimistic-vs-zk-rollup-deep-dive-ea141e71e075 -- (00:00) Intro (05:00) Scroll, a zkEVM Rollup (05:26) Why Is zk Tech Interesting? (07:58) Optimistic vs ZK rollups (10:26) The Evolution of ZK Tech (13:27) zkSync and Starkware (20:26) Where Is Scroll Today? (22:09) The Scroll Team (24:16) Moats In An Open-Source Industry (26:42) General-Purpose vs App-Specific Rollup (28:44) Paraswap Ad (29:44) Creating The Best Developer Experience (32:12) Working With The Ethereum Foundation (36:02) What Scroll Will Enable for Web3 (41:22) China and Web3 (46:17) Building and Investing (47:19) What's Next For Scroll? -- 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.

23 Mai 202251min

On today's episode of Empire, Jason and Mike are joined by Richard Craib, founder of Numerai, to discuss why Richard sold all his ETH. Richard is a prolific investor and has been part of the Ethereum ecosystem since the 2014 ICO. That’s why it was such a big deal when he announced he sold his ETH and that he no longer sees crypto as a good investment. Does crypto have a product outside of speculation? Is crypto’s growth just a result of the Fed? Is crypto more about regulatory arbitrage than the tech? These questions and more are explored in this fascinating conversation (debate!) where Richard holds nothing back. - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Follow Richard: https://twitter.com/richardcraib Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw - - Referenced in the show: Richard's video announcing why he sold his ETH https://twitter.com/richardcraib/status/1523513981347848192?s=20&t=qwlN5rWxe5-KWyJOEr4B6Q -- (00:00) Intro (01:52) Why Richard Sold All of His ETH (09:00) The Fed "Created" UST (12:14) Macro Trouble (15:53) A Market Neutral Strategy (19:38) Is Crypto's Only Product Speculation? (32:58) An Overreaction to a Flawed System (36:26) A Massive Misallocation of Capital (40:25) It's Mostly Just Regulatory Arbitrage (43:00) Why People Join The Crypto Industry (47:33) Is There A Real Use Case? (52:28) What Richard First Liked About Crypto

20 Mai 202255min

On today's episode of Empire, Stani Kulechov - founder of Aave and Lens Protocol - joins Jason and Santiago to discuss the future of Web3 social. Stani explains how Lens Protocol will be the substrate Web3 social developers leverage to build and bootstrap their apps. Lens Protocol's modular architecture and open-data structure will enable mass experimentation, micro-communities and social composability: leading to differentiated and user-focused products. We then explore the benefits of a user-owned social graph, monetization strategies and how identity/social credit will be the next big unlock in Web3. Tune in to explore this new medium for social! - -  Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Stani: https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw - - 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 (01:03) Why Stani Was Kicked Off Twitter (04:45) Can Twitter Decentralize? (12:36) Social Media In Crypto (22:13) What Problem Is Lens Protocol Solving? (25:40) Building Moats In Social Media (28:14) Bitmex Ad (29:30) Building Moats In Social Media (34:36) Comparisons Between Web 2.0 & Web 3.0 Social Media (40:28) How Does Web 3.0 Social Media Monetize? (51:56) Negatives of Social Media On A Blockchain (53:40) Could Lens Be Bigger Than Aave? (59:23) The Lens Protocol Stack -- 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 Mai 20221h 4min

On today's episode of Empire, Joe Lallouz, Head of Coinbase Cloud, joins Jason and Santiago to discuss how Coinbase Cloud is building the AWS of crypto. Coinbase Cloud is building blockchain infrastructure and APIs that abstract the complexities of staking, data access, deployment and more. Joe explains the challenges of building in crypto, how Coinbase Cloud is taking on this challenge, and why developer tooling is critical for rapid innovation. We then discuss the importance of crypto's low switching costs, proof-of-stake systems, Lido's staking dominance, and Coinbase's approach to MEV. Blockchain infrastructure isn't the hot topic on Crypto Twitter, but it's the base layer of the entire ecosystem and will soon be a primary talking point. Don't miss this fantastic conversation to stay ahead of the blockchain infrastructure narrative! - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Joe: https://twitter.com/JoeLallouz Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices and lowest slippage. -- (00:00) Introduction (01:27) The AWS of Crypto (10:57) The Multichain Thesis (16:24) Bundling and Unbundling in Web3 (21:56) The Magic of Low Switching Costs (28:11) Move Fast and Don't Break Things (33:48) Building The Secure Foundation (35:19) Is Coinbase a Bridge? (37:27) Paraswap Ad (38:35) Is Lido a Threat to ETH? (45:40) A Coinbase ETH Staking Derivative (48:16) How Coinbase Approaches MEV (51:43) MEV's Moral Hazard (55:19) Blockchain On Demand (59:38) Why ApeCoin Doesn't Need Its Own Chain (1:03:11) Every Company Will Be a Crypto Company (1:06:08) Segments Ripe For Innovation -- 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 Mai 20221h 10min

On today's episode of Empire, Olaf Carlson-Wee, Coinbase's first employee & founder of Polychain, joins Jason and Santiago to discuss his views on the state of crypto. Olaf reflects on crypto's cycles, the reoccurring themes and how this relates to the UST meltdown and today's bear market. We then dive into Olaf's investment philosophy, exploring his thoughts on what assets will accrue value, the multichain future and the most exciting opportunities. You'll also hear Olaf's unique take on the "one reason" DAOs should exist. Don't miss this fantastic episode with one of the most interesting/successful OGs in crypto. - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ Follow Olaf: https://twitter.com/zxocw Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe To Our Podcast: apple.co/3srZf7M or sptfy.com/8bQc -- 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/ -- (00:00) Introduction (01:02) Market Chaos (05:37) Crypto's Cycles (17:33) Stablecoins and UST's Meltdown (24:33) The End of Algo Stables (30:06) Where's The Market Headed? (38:14) Bitmex AD (39:31) The Biggest Entrepreneurial Laboratory in History (43:23) It's Time for Buying Not Selling (44:34) Layer One Wars (48:38) The L2 Ecosystem (53:58) Where Will Value Accrue? (58:13) What's Overlooked In Crypto? (1:03:22) The One Thing DAO's Should Do (1:06:18) DeFi vs CeFi (1:07:39) Struggles of an Entrepreneur (1:11:33) The Industry Has to Prove Itself -- 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.

13 Mai 20221h 15min

Jordi Alexander and Mika Honkasalo join Jason and Santiago on today’s episode of “Empire" to discuss the meltdown of UST, Terra's stablecoin. The match was lit Sunday with UST de-pegging from one dollar, and it's now become the single biggest wealth destruction event in crypto. Jordi and Mika explain what led to UST's demise, how this could have been prevented, and what's in store for the future of UST and Terra. Is this the end of decentralized stablecoins? Can the market recover? Tune in to find out. - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Jordi: https://twitter.com/gametheorizing Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe To Our Podcast: apple.co/3srZf7M or sptfy.com/8bQc -- (00:00) Introduction (01:07) What Happened to UST? (04:32) Utility vs Ponzi Mechanics (12:13) BTC Reserve (15:26) The Attack (20:32) How Did Institutions Play This? (24:31) Macro's Impact (26:52) Future of Decentralized Stablecoins (35:46) How Could UST Be Designed Differently? (43:21) The Multiplier Effect (44:44) The Soros Test (46:57) What's Next for UST? (56:16) The Arbitrage (59:12) The Systemic Effects (1:05:40) The Investment Outlook -- 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 Mai 20221h 13min

Vance Spencer and Michael Anderson, co-founders of Framework Ventures, join Jason on today’s episode of “Empire.” The founders have grown Framework’s assets under management from $14 million to over $1.4 billion in just three years. The co-founders share their thoughts on the layer-2 scaling thesis and why every project will eventually fork their own layer-2. Vance and Michael believe the shift to layer-2s is inevitable — it’s the endgame in maximizing token value. They then dive into staking and staking derivatives and why the Ethereum merge will bring about the birth of a new industry. This might be the most alpha ever dropped in one podcast — don’t miss it! - - Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianism Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_manderson Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe To Our Podcast: apple.co/3srZf7M or sptfy.com/8bQc -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. -- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:21) Yuga Labs debacle and scaling solutions (07:40) Application-specific L2s (09:07) Are L2 tokens parasitic to L1 tokens? (11:27)The multichain future (15:58) $10B hack prediction (17:57) Lido and Staking (23:27) Is The ETH Merge Priced In? (27:41) How To Outperform ETH (30:24) Fundamental Analysis (32:54) Institutional strategies and the ETH flippening (38:56) Paraswap Ad (40:05) Bearish AMMs, Bullish PFOF (45:14) Are we just recreating TradFi? (47:22) Revisiting the OG DeFi protocols (50:50) Tokenomics (55:14) Investing in GameFi (1:04:58) Enterprise blockchains (1:09:54) Super DAOs (1:11:54) 2022 Outlook -- 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 Mai 20221h 19min