Empire

Druckenmiller is bullposting TradeXYZ and you're bearish?

This week, we break down the TradFi incumbents suddenly leaning into crypto rails and what it means for the startups that built them.

We explore Druck's viral X post, ICE bringing Hyperliquid perps to the US, Google Cloud's new crypto custody play, Y Combinator's crypto wishlist, and whether AI favors incumbents over startups. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Chicken Hats and Bull Markets

02:15 Google's 12% Earnings Drop

02:33 Druckenmiller Bets on Trade XYZ

15:59 Fidelity

16:34 DAS London

17:12 Google Cloud Enters Custody

22:01 Inside Dragonfly's Partner Shakeup

26:12 Fidelity

26:53 DAS London

27:28 Inside Dragonfly's Partner Shakeup (cont.)

28:25 YC's Crypto Startup Wishlist

32:49 The Four Stages of a Bull Market

39:15 DeFi Primitives Beyond Perps

42:42 AI Bubble or Incumbents' Game?

50:26 ICE's Sprecher on Hyperliquid

51:44 Midterms and Crypto Politics

56:26 Content of the Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Haseeb – https://x.com/hosseeb

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

SPONSORS

› Fidelity Crypto was built in-house. with over adozen years of crypto experience. So you can trade crypto and stocks in one place at Fidelity, backed by industry-leading security. Fidelity Crypto. We're here to help you feel good about investing in crypto. Crypto is offered by Fidelity Digital Assets, NA, is not insured by FDIC or SIPC and includes risk of significant loss. Securities offered by Fidelity Brokerage Services,LLC. Member NYSE, SIPC.

http://fidelity.com/crypto

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11

https://blockworks.com/events

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

› Start building with the Blockworks Unified API

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Is AI about to make the whole internet a target?

This week, we unpack the PHP exploit wave and why crypto saw this cybersecurity attack pattern first.

We also explore whether the AI labs get nationalized, where AI's irrational exuberance lives, Visa's rumored Fireblocks deal, and why it feels like nothing is investable right now. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 From the B-List to the A-List: Haseeb & Zaki Join

01:21 Is AI Breaking Cybersecurity?

10:22 Where Are The AI-Powered Cyberattacks?

15:44 Can AI Defend Against Itself?

20:34 Ads (Fidelity, DAS London)

21:45 Should The Government Control AI Labs?

28:42 Will AI Labs Become Nationalized?

32:55 Ads (Fidelity, DAS London)

34:11 Is The AI Boom Overvalued?

38:38 Who Is Actually Winning In AI?

43:16 Does The World Need More AI Labs?

46:27 Is Crypto Custody Consolidating?

53:53 Crypto's Next Wave Of M&A

57:56 What Is The Market Telling Us?

01:01:22 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Hasseeb – https://x.com/hosseeb

› Zaki – https://x.com/zmanian

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

SPONSORS

› Fidelity Crypto was built in-house with over a dozen years of crypto experience. So you can trade crypto and stocks in one place at Fidelity, backed by industry-leading security. Fidelity Crypto. We're here to help you feel good about investing in crypto. Crypto is offered by Fidelity Digital Assets, NA, is not insured by FDIC or SIPC and includes risk of significant loss. Securities offered by Fidelity Brokerage Services,LLC. Member NYSE, SIPC.

http://fidelity.com/crypto

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11

https://blockworks.com/events

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

› Start building with the Blockworks Unified API

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Will the AI labs eat everything or is tech just too sure of itself to tell what actually lasts?

This week, Compound's Michael Dempsey explains why he invests against the herd in a market running on FOMO.

We explore which SaaS companies survive AI, why sentiment has turned against tech, his case for a historic decade in bio, and why crypto venture went quiet while onchain assets got interesting. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

01:29 How Do You Invest Without FOMO?

08:30 Is The AI Boom Built To Last?

12:32 Will AI Labs Eat Every Startup?

17:19 Ads (Fidelity Crypto)

17:52 Which Software Companies Survive AI?

24:35 Why Is Tech Losing Public Trust?

33:56 Ads (Fidelity Crypto)

34:35 Gambling, Inequality, And Financial Nihilism

40:03 Has Tech Lost Its Soul?

43:54 How Compound Finds Its Next Bets

55:36 Can AI Transform Biotech?

01:03:39 Why Still Invest In Crypto?

01:08:04 Which Crypto Companies Could Go Public?

FOLLOW GUEST

› Michael – https://x.com/mhdempsey

› Compound – https://www.compound.vc/

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

SPONSORS

› Fidelity Crypto was built in-house with over a dozen years of crypto experience. So you can trade crypto and stocks in one place at Fidelity, backed by industry-leading security. Fidelity Crypto. We're here to help you feel good about investing in crypto. Crypto is offered by Fidelity Digital Assets, NA, is not insured by FDIC or SIPC and includes risk of significant loss. Securities offered by Fidelity Brokerage Services,LLC. Member NYSE, SIPC.

http://fidelity.com/crypto

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11

https://blockworks.com/events

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

› Start building with the Blockworks Unified API

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Is AI's infinite capital era finally running out of road?

This week, we unpack the AI bloodbath and why credit markets are flashing warnings while crypto quietly holds its ground.

We explore Anthropic's growth scare, Yano's AI survival tiers, why everyone's talking about Pearl, and whether regulators will ever allow global liquidity. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

01:24 AI Sells Off, Crypto Holds Up

05:20 Is CoreWeave Facing A Debt Crisis?

10:14 Can Frontier Models Make Money?

16:20 Ads (Fidelity Crypto, DAS London)

17:30 Which AI Businesses Survive?

21:52 Who Wins As AI Gets Cheaper?

27:15 Ads (Fidelity Crypto, DAS London)

28:41 What Stood Out At Token2049?

31:49 Can AI Mining Challenge Bitcoin?

36:09 Does Pearl’s Mining Model Work?

40:23 What’s Next For Crypto Exchanges?

50:26 Will Stablecoins Replace National Currencies?

59:45 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyano. itz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

SPONSORS

› Fidelity Crypto was built in-house with over a dozen years of crypto experience. So you can trade crypto and stocks in one place at Fidelity, backed by industry-leading security. Fidelity Crypto. We're here to help you feel good about investing in crypto. Crypto is offered by Fidelity Digital Assets, NA, is not insured by FDIC or SIPC and includes risk of significant loss. Securities offered by Fidelity Brokerage Services,LLC. Member NYSE, SIPC.

http://fidelity.com/crypto

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11

https://blockworks.com/events

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

› Start building with the Blockworks Unified API

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Is tokenization pointless until you can borrow against it?

This week, we sit down with Kamino's new CEO Michael Weisz on why he left fintech to build the onchain credit layer.

We explore Kamino's invisible distribution strategy, why Goldman won't lend on private assets, why venture can't be collateral yet, and how his upside rides on $KMNO. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

00:54 Why Leave Fintech For Crypto?

05:43 Why Join Kamino?

10:01 Kamino’s Vision For Onchain Finance

14:06 Who Owns The Customer Relationship?

17:13 Bringing Institutions Onchain: Four Pillars

23:34 Why Private Assets Need Onchain Credit

27:23 Which Assets Make Good Collateral?

33:27 Can DeFi Attract Top Asset Managers?

39:18 Running Kamino Like A Public Company

43:28 How Do Collateral And Liquidations Work?

46:45 Why Choose Tokens Over Equity?

50:05 Building Kamino’s Team

52:49 Final Thoughts

FOLLOW GUEST

› Michael – https://x.com/WeiszM

› Kamino – https://kamino.com/earn/lend

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11

https://blockworks.com/events

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

› Start building with the Blockworks Unified API

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

What if Hyperliquid’s biggest opportunity is helping the exchanges it’s compared against?

This week, Hyperliquid Labs CEO & Co-founder Jeff Yan explains how Hyperliquid is building shared infrastructure for the entire financial system.

We discuss options, institutional access, the cost of trading speed, and why transparent markets could deliver better execution. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

01:31 Building The House Of All Finance

05:07 Is Hyperliquid More Than An Exchange?

07:17 Bringing Institutions Onto Hyperliquid

11:46 Better Trading Through Fees And Options

18:19 Do Transparent Markets Deliver Better Execution?

23:46 Keeping Hyperliquid’s Community Focused

27:05 What Comes Next For Hyperliquid?

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Jeff – https://x.com/chameleon_jeff

› Shaunda – https://x.com/shaundadevens

› DAS –https://x.com/blockworksDAS

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

› TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto.

Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

› Start building with the Blockworks Unified API

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

How do you price a commodity that still clears in text messages?

This week, we're joined by Brett Harrison of Architect and Andrawes Bahou of Compute Desk to discuss why GPU compute needs a futures market for better pricing and hedging.

We explore the opaque broker markets quoting GPUs that don't exist, buyers paying up to 2x to get chips sooner, hyperscaler cash flow going negative, and the biggest constraints in the AI market. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

00:59 Why Does Compute Need Markets?

08:53 Compute Still Trades In Group Chats

13:38 Why Finding GPUs Takes So Long

19:21 How Much Compute Should You Buy?

26:58 Why Are Compute Prices Rising?

33:27 Can Architect Take On CME?

38:13 How Do You Hedge Compute?

43:08 The Risks Behind GPU Lending

52:08 What Really Constrains The AI Market?

01:02:08 What Is Everyone Missing About Compute?

FOLLOW GUESTS

› Brett – https://x.com/BrettHarrison

› Architect – https://architect.co/

› Andrawes – https://x.com/andrawesbahou

› Compute Desk – https://www.compute-desk.com/

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

› TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto.

Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes. only. Any views expressedare opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

AI is absorbing investor attention while crypto fundamentals keep improving and fueling growing signs of the long-awaiting bull market.

This week, we debate the economics behind AI’s boom and whether crypto’s recovery deserves more attention.

We also explore data center financing, why Yano is buying Backpack, overlooked fintech growth, and whether AI agents will disrupt financial services. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

00:58 Silicon Valley’s AI Drama

02:52 What Could Pop AI’s Bubble?

08:49 AI’s Boom Vs The Debt Markets

12:33 Will Compute Demand Keep Growing?

15:53 The Economics Behind AI Compute

21:23 Is Crypto’s Bull Market Back?

30:29 Was SBF Actually A Great Investor?

37:22 Crypto’s Regulatory And Funding Shift

41:42 Is Crypto Growth Different This Time?

48:24 Will AI Agents Disrupt Finance?

54:00 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

› TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto.

Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

› Start building with the Blockworks Unified API

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to. buy orsell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Do markets even need CLARITY when quality names and regulators are already sending?

This week, we dig into pro-innovation regulators and consensus momentum trades outperforming clever rotations.

We also explore Muse, inventors rarely winning, tokenization value capture, and $HOOD versus $SOL. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

00:58 Blockworks’ Origins And Crypto’s Red Flags

05:08 Crypto Ripping Without CLARITY?

09:41 Can Consensus Coins Keep Winning?

13:18 Why Dragonfly Shifted Toward Equity

20:48 Is Meta’s AI Bet Underpriced?

33:26 Why Crypto’s First Movers Lost

36:29 Blockworks’ DAS Asia And Unified API

39:08 Who Captures Tokenization’s Value?

46:42 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset. 2026London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

› TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of. thebiggest weeks in crypto.

Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and. 10%DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST

RESOURCES

› Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection:

https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation. to buy or sellsecurities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes. only. Anyviews expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

CLARITY failed, but SEC and CFTC action could still accelerate onchain markets.

This week, we cover what's next for crypto regulation, debate the many-stablecoin thesis, and dig into Circle launching Arc and the S&P’s push into crypto data and security.

We also discuss broken venture markets, Meta’s AI advantage, and Polymarket’s executive hiring spree. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

03:50 Corporate Stablecoin Debate

13:03 Why The CLARITY Act Failed

16:58 The SEC Opens Tokenized Markets

22:43 Who Wins Tokenized Markets?

29:06 S&P Moves Deeper Into Crypto

37:40 Can Circle Make Arc Work?

46:14 Can AI Startups Survive Meta?

51:26 Polymarket’s War For Talent

57:15 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

RESOURCES

› Slumber Number – https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-slumber-number-innovation-exemption-statement-091726

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

› TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto.

Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.