Debating non-EVM Chains | Haseeb (Dragonfly) vs. Avichal (Electric)
On today's episode of Empire Haseeb and Avichal return to Empire to discuss crypto in 2024. They debate whether we're entering a bull market and analyze key indicators like retail engagement, institutional flows, and blockchain development activity. The majority of the conversation focuses on a debate of the EVM versus alternative chains like Solana, Monad, or other virtual machines. They also touch on the sustainability of meme coins, and whether major consumer apps will emerge this cycle. They close out by discussing crypto's scalability trilemma, the prospect of regional fragmentation, and whether financialization detracts from user experience in areas like gaming. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Haseeb: https://twitter.com/hosseeb Follow Avichal: https://twitter.com/avichal 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: (01:48) Where are we in the cycle (07:28) Allocation Decisions and Mindset (11:30) Sentiment Outstripping Fundamentals (20:23) Developer Report & Performant Chains Exposure (29:49) Market Structure of Virtual Machine Adoption (42:21) EVM Landscape Prediction (56:26) Arbitrum Ad (57:13) Harpie Ad (58:28) Can Solana Overtake Ethereum? (01:09:00) The Big Consumer App (01:25:28) Speculation vs Social Experiences (01:31:15) Meme Coin Perspective - - 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.
30 Jan 20241h 46min
How Parallelized State Execution Unlocks Transactional Throughput at Scale | Logan Jastremski
In today's episode Jason and Santi are joined by Logan Jastremski, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Frictionless Capital. He shares his thesis on why high-throughput blockchains are essential for crypto to reach mainstream adoption. We dive deep into the technical limitations of existing chains, and how innovations like parallelization and higher bandwidth unlock entirely new applications and business models not possible before. Stay tuned for a deep dive into deterministic and optimistic parallelization, performant validator nodes, and much more! - - 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/empire2-9988 - - 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 Logan: https://twitter.com/loganjastremski 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: (01:35) The Logan Jastremski Thesis (08:47) Parallelization Adoption & Usecases (15:53) Blockchains at Scale (30:24) Limitations of Data Propagation (37:38) Edge Cases of Performant Blockchain Thesis (42:26) Wormole Ad (43:52) Paypal Ad (44:51) Frictionless Portfolio Decisions (48:36) Solana Criticisms (59:07) Biggest Problem Solana Faces Today (01:04:10) Applications Unlocked by High Performance (01:13:36) Investing in Private Teams vs L1 Tokens (01:16:55) Thesis Invalidation - - 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 Jan 20241h 27min
Debating the DePIN Flywheel: Token Incentives, Business Models, and Mainstream Adoption | Kyle Samani & Dmitriy Berenzon
In today's episode Jason is joined by Kyle Samani of Multicoin Capital and Dmitriy Berenzon of Archetype for an in-depth debate on the emerging decentralized physical infrastructure industry. They analyze the complex economic flywheel effects that drive growth, including how token incentives align infrastructure providers and fuel liquidity and value. The discussion covers considerations around hardware needs, revenue models, and mainstream adoption challenges. They also assess the differences between B2B and B2C models, approaches to token issuance, and evaluating timing for mainstream adoption. We hope you enjoy! - - Follow Kyle: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani Follow Dimitriy: https://twitter.com/dberenzon 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: (01:24) What is DePIN? (09:33) Barriers to DePIN (21:40) DePIN Flywheel (24:22) B2C vs B2B DePIN Designs (33:41) Arbitrum Ad (34:28) Harpie Ad (35:43) CapEx & OpEx Costs (45:00) Filecoin Thesis (49:28) Best Token Issuance Models for DePIN (55:56) Open Sourcing Hardware (57:48) Active vs Passive DePIN - - 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 Jan 20241h 5min
How the ETF Impacts Bitcoin's Price | Matt Hougan & Eric Balchunas
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
The Bitcoin ETF: What Everyone Missed | Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale CEO
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
Unpacking the Bitcoin ETF and What's Next | Roundup
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
Winning In 2024 With CMS Holdings | 1000x
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
Solana 2024: Fee Markets, SVM Economics, and Saga Phone | Anatoly Yakovenko & Ben Sparango
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
