Empire

In today’s episode of Empire, we discuss how crypto startups are running out of cash. Will more companies quietly shut down, and how will the survivors navigate the market? One group of people can strongly impact this outcome: Crypto VCs. We explore what decisions these VCs are facing, if they'll be able to raise funds from LPs, their hardest challenges and more! This is a short episode that's packed with insights.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:57) Nike x Tiffany collab

(10:38) Celsius lacks leadership

(12:45) Private companies will quietly shut down

(15:53) How VCs operate

(22:12) Blockworks Research Ad

(27:45) Challenges of running a crypto VC fund

(32:55) Fundraising terms matter

(34:23) Lessons learned from past cycles

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Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel

Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz

Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod

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Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

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Resources

Bell Curve podcast

http://bit.ly/3HVuKi1

LVMH story

https://www.ft.com/content/c79eccfc-fca1-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6

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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.

In this episode of Empire, Hal Press joins Mike and Jason to discuss his investment thesis. It's no secret that Hal is an ETH super bull, and this episode makes it clear why. He explains ETH's unfair advantage, how L2s will serve as free marketing for Ethereum, the liquidity staking derivative trade, the mechanics behind token rallies, token value accrual and the deflationary outlook! Get ready, this is one of my favorite podcasts yet.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:54) What Caused This Rally?

(10:46) The ETH:BTC Ratio

(13:14) How Shanghai Will Affect ETH Sell Pressure

(18:32) The LSD Trade

(20:30) Blockworks Research Ad

(30:30) The Real Yield Thesis

(32:36) Has ETH Won?

(44:28) Aptos’ Rally & Learnings

(54:40) The L2 Landscape

(59:10) Where Will Value Accrue?

(1:07:36) Bullish on dYdX

(1:10:34) Macro and Deflation

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Follow Hal: https://twitter.com/NorthRockLP

Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz

Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_

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/

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Resources

North Rock Digital

https://northrockdigital.com/

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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.

In today’s episode of Empire, we discuss how we've just entered the third phase of the bear market. A phase marked by apathy. We explore what this means for builders, investors and the industry. If you're still here (in crypto), you don't want to miss this.

We then cover why Aptos' price is pumping, Circles CCTP news, the controversial Doodles announcement and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(04:27) Permissionless Speakers

(05:30) Phase 3 of the Bear Market

(37:00) Regulatory Clarity

(41:09) Why is Aptos Ripping?

(49:06) Circle’s CCTP

(55:29) Doodles 2 Launching on Flow

(57:50) Kevin Rose $2M+ NFT “Hack”

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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/

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Resources

Electric Capital 2022 Developer Report

https://www.developerreport.com/developer-report

Revoke.Cash

https://revoke.cash/

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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.

In this episode of Empire, Sreeram Kannan and Calvin Liu explain how EigenLayer creates a market for decentralized trust to enable permissionless infrastructure innovation. We explore EigenLayer's core use cases, slashing mechanics, economic incentives, re-staking risks and more. EigenLayer might be the most underrated project in Ethereum right now. Tune in to find out why!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:08) EigenLayer 101

(18:04) Liquid vs Native Staking

(24:24) Why Calvin Joined EigenLayer

(28:51) Core Use Cases

(49:50) Improper Slashing Risk

(1:00:00) EigenLayer’s Flywheel and Business Model

(1:05:45) Systemic Risks: Overleveraging Staked ETH

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Follow Sreeram:https://twitter.com/sreeramkannan

Follow Calvin: https://twitter.com/cjliu49

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/

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Resources

EigenLayer

https://www.eigenlayer.com/

EigenLayer's Twitter

https://twitter.com/eigenlayer

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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.

In this episode of Empire, Qiao explains the upcoming Wallet Wars. Wallets are the decentralized access point for crypto, and the battle for distribution is about to get wild. Listen in to learn about the SuperApp Thesis, account abstraction, the battle for attention, wallet value capture and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:50) The Fat Wallet Thesis

(04:11) How Wallets Have Evolved

(09:06) Wallet Wars, Rise of the SuperApp

(24:35) Account Abstraction

(27:28) Why Geography Matters

(29:16) Wallet Value Capture

(41:03) Blue Ocean Opportunities & Centralized Credentials

(51:02) Crypto Alfalpha

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Follow Qiao: https://twitter.com/QwQiao

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/

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Resources

Alliance DAO

https://alliance.xyz/

Good Game podcast (Qiao's podcast)

https://goodgamepod.xyz/

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More related content by Blockworks:

What Are Seed Phrases and Are They Needed? The New Debate

https://blockworks.co/news/what-are-seed-phrases

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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.

In this episode of Empire, Emin Gün Sirer and John Wu explain why Avalanche is the most scalable, decentralized L1. We start with why developers choose Avalanche, then quickly transition into the L2 debate. Emin explains why Subnets are superior and how the L2 vision and L2 reality are miles apart. We also talk about Avalanche's consensus engine, business development, the multichain future and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:01) Avalanche’s Core Thesis

(04:17) Why Build on Avalanche?

(14:19) The Problem with L2s

(19:08) Avalanche's Tradeoffs

(23:41) The Consensus Engine

(30:00) Learnings From Other Networks

(33:29) Solana vs Avalanche

(40:59) Avalanche’s Security Guarantees

(45:00) Business Development Strategy

(55:09) Warp: Communication Between Subnets

(1:00:01) On-Chain Governance

(1:01:41) Avalanche’s Community

(1:08:29) A Multichain Future?

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Follow Emin: https://twitter.com/el33th4xor

Follow John: https://twitter.com/John1wu

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/

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Resources

Avalanche

https://www.avax.network/

Ava Labs

https://www.avalabs.org/

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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.

In today’s episode of Empire, we discuss the upcoming Shanghai upgrade and Lido's liquid staking monopoly. What will happen to stake rates once withdrawals are enabled? Will LSD providers steal market share from Lido?

We also discuss Genesis' terrible GBTC trade, why we're feeling optimistic, FTX recovering $5B, Japan's most popular blockchain and how people still underestimate the power of BD in crypto (e.g. the Avalanche AWS partnership)!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:21) Crypto Conferences & the January Effect

(09:30) Genesis’ Terrible Risk/Reward Trade

(20:08) FTX Finds $5B of Assets

(24:38) SBF’s Substack Post

(28:56) Why We're Still Feeling Optimistic

(37:21) How the Shanghai Upgrade will Impact ETH staking rates

(44:16) When to Sell (a Crypto Funds Perspective)

(48:16) Has Lido Won the LSD Battle?

(52:53) Avalanche Partners With AWS

(1:01:07) Japan’s Most Popular Blockchain

(1:03:39) Coinbase and Blockchain.com Layoffs

(1:05:00) On-Chain US Treasuries (Ondo Finance)

(1:07:25) Book Recommendations

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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/

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Resources

Thinking in Probabilities (Byron newsletter)

https://blockworks.co/newsletter/issue/30211866

SBF's Substack

https://sambf.substack.com/

Ryan Watkins tweet

https://twitter.com/RyanWatkins_/status/1612872737134870528

Astar

https://astar.network/starmap/

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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.

In this episode of Empire, Colleen Sullivan and Peter Johnson join us to discuss their predictions for 2023. We cover the future of NFTs, gaming, trading infrastructure, stablecoins, regulation, AppChains and more! This episode is packed with insights from two top VCs in crypto - you won't want to miss it.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:04) Why Choose Optimism

(04:22) Stablecoin Volumes Will Surpass Visa Volumes

(11:59) Brands, NFTs and Polygon's Lead

(25:31) Gaming Studios Will Integrate NFTs

(29:48) The Financialization of NFTs

(38:08) Gaming Interoperability

(42:42) The Unbundling of NFT Marketplaces

(49:38) Changes to Market Trading Infrastructure

(51:35) DeFi Regulation, Macro and Bitcoin’s Narrative

(1:10:42) The Separation of Brokerage, Custody and Settlement

(1:14:40) 2023’s Prevailing Narrative

(1:19:17) The AppChain Thesis & IRL Yields in Crypto

(1:22:47) Steady Adoption & Strong Beliefs

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Follow Colleen: https://twitter.com/colleenklein

Follow Peter: https://twitter.com/TheChicagoVC

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/

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Resources

What to Expect for NFTs and Digital Goods in 2023

https://blockworks.co/news/digital-goods-nfts-2023

What to Expect From Web3 Gaming in 2023

https://blockworks.co/news/web3-gaming-2023

What to Expect for Ethereum and Blockchain Infrastructure in 2023

https://blockworks.co/news/ethereum-blockchain-infrastructure-2023

Tokengated Commerce

https://www.notboring.co/p/tokengated-commerce

Financial Times (Alan Howard)

https://www.ft.com/content/e89061dd-634e-4024-b74a-5a102d4eb552

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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.

In today’s episode of Empire, Santi and Jason go full Michael Scott by hosting the Annual Empire Awards. We discuss our favorite projects of 2022, our wildest predictions, the most overhyped section of crypto, the best unsexy ideas and so much more! We then get personal by discussing our worst investment in 2022, our best/worst new habits, our favorite app and our personal goals for 2023. Don't miss this one - it's one of my favorites yet.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(04:08) Biggest Mental Reframe

(17:06) Favorite Project or Business

(20:48) Crypto Person of the Year

(23:08) Top Breakout Company

(29:23) Best Unsexy Idea

(35:40) Wildest Prediction for 2023

(43:40) Most Overlooked Vertical in Crypto

(47:02) Most Overhyped Vertical in Crypto

(50:33) Business You Want to See Built in 2023

(51:56) Your Best & Worst Investment in 2022

(59:37) Best Business Decision of 2022

(1:01:55) Most Helpful Thing You Started in 2022

(1:03:49) Worst & Best Habit

(1:08:17) Favorite Content of 2022

(1:13:48) Besides Crypto, What Would You Work On?

(1:22:11) Favorite New App or Product

(1:24:33) Dream Podcast Guest

(1:27:13) 2023 Business & Personal Goals

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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/

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Resources

The Diff

https://www.thediff.co/

I Pledge Allegiance

https://bit.ly/3QgW2BK

A Media Operator

https://www.amediaoperator.com/

Graham Duncan

https://grahamduncan.blog/about/

John Collison with Stanley Druckenmiller

https://bit.ly/3QxSRpL

Clay

https://clay.earth/

The Summit (by Santi)

https://bit.ly/3Cu4cBk

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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.

In today’s episode of Empire, we bring on Mike and Mark from On The Margin to discuss our 2023 crypto thesis. We debate predictions on the Wallet Wars, ETH vs Bitcoin, the rise of insurance, app-specific vertical integration, the adoption of CBDCs, Coinbase vs DEXs, MEV as a business model and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:14) Crypto’s 2022 Wrapped

(11:52) The Bottom is in for Crypto, not for Equities

(19:35) Kings of Spot & NFT Trading Will Lose Market Share

(22:44) Stablecoins, DeFi’s Resurgence and Permissioned Protocols

(28:02) Regulators are Coming, and the CBDC debate

(33:23) MEV will be the Business Model for DeFi & Exchanges

(42:05) No Industry Takes Off Without Insurance

(48:48) A Market Bottom & the Value of Memes

(52:36) ETH vs Bitcoin (spicy)

(1:03:34) Miner Capitulation, Wallet Wars & Gaming

(1:11:31) Vertical Integration, Privacy and Payments

(1:17:51) The Rise of Professional Guilds

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Follow Mark: https://twitter.com/MarkYusko

Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_

Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel

Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz

Empire links

Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j

Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7

Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw

Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod

On The Margin links

Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3YGtdml

Subscribe on Apple: https://bit.ly/3BUZXhK

Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3hHY1m4

Follow OTM: https://twitter.com/OnTheMarginPod

Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

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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.