Empire

In this episode of Empire, Arthur_0x, the founder of Defiance Capital, joins us to discuss the fallout from FTX's collapse. Arthur is a DeFi OG with a unique perspective on market dynamics and ecosystem-wide liquidations. His fund was directly impacted by the 3AC meltdown, giving Arthur a front-row seat to the complexities of liquidations and contagion.

We discuss Alameda's outsized contagion risk, why this might be the most complex liquidation in history, the damage to the Solana ecosystem, private vs public markets and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:02) The Unintended Consequences Of Authority

(05:37) Due Diligence In A Bull Market

(08:18) What Was Great About FTX?

(10:40) FTX Contagion Explained

(18:05) Did You See Red Flags?

(23:45) Did Sam Always Have Bad Intentions?

(28:04) Why Did CZ Wait Until Now?

(30:47) Circle Ad

(32:48) Damage To The Solana Ecosystem

(39:48) The Most Complex Liquidation Process In History

(44:38) Tokens vs Equity, Private vs Public Markets

(53:30) Arthur’s Biggest Takeaway

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Follow Arthur: https://twitter.com/Arthur_0x

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

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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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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.

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Resources

Sequoia's FTX Memo

https://twitter.com/zebulgar/status/1590394857474109441

Solana FTX Documentation Page

https://solana.com/news/solana-facts-ftx-bankruptcy

Defiance Capital

https://defiance.capital/

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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.

Genesis, crypto's largest lender, just froze withdrawals and new loan orginations. Would a Genesis collapse have wider impacts than FTX's demise?

Genesis sits at the direct center of crypto capital markets. They custody funds. They help institutions earn yield. They are the yield product for CeFi platforms. Genesis touches almost everything...

We bring on foobar to discuss!

Note: A spokesperson at Anchorage (mentioned in the ep), shared this great update: "Anchorage Digital does not lend or repurpose client assets without a client's permission and we have no commercial relationship with Genesis."

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Follow foobar: https://twitter.com/0xfoobar

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

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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

Jason's thread on Genesis

https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1592917789898989568

Circle's tweets on Genesis

https://twitter.com/circle/status/1592940639645495298

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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, Kristin Smith and Jake Chervinsky join us to discuss how FTX's collapse will impact crypto regulation.

SBF was the poster child of crypto in D.C. - how will his fallout damage crypto's reputation? Did regulators fail consumers, and how will they respond? What are the shortcomings of the DCCPA bill? How important are the political midterms, and what is happening in the securities vs commodities debate? Tune in to find out!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:54) SBF’s Unbelievable Damage

(07:17) How Active Was SBF In D.C.?

(09:52) The First Red Flags & DCCPA Threats

(22:56) Where Regulators Failed

(27:32) Expected Reaction From D.C.

(33:43) Circle Ad

(35:26) DCCPA Overview & Its Impact On DeFi

(47:53) What The Midterms Mean For Crypto

(50:55) The Litigation Phase

(55:07) LBRY, Ripple & Progressive Decentralization

(1:03:45) A Path Forward

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Follow Kristin: https://twitter.com/KMSmithDC

Follow Jake: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky

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.

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Resources

Jake's tweet thread on DCCPA

https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1570451252852527104

Brian Amstrong's response to Elizabeth Warren

https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1590511022104010753

Ron Hammond's tweet thread on FTX/SBF

https://twitter.com/ronwhammond/status/1590741692348772352

Blockchain Association website

https://theblockchainassociation.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 this episode of Empire, Avichal Garg Founder of Electric Capital and Haseeb Qureshi Managing Partner at Dragonfly Capital join the show to discuss the fallout of FTX.

Avichal and Haseeb discuss the structure between FTX and Alameda Research, looking behind the curtain into how intertwined the two entities were. We then go on to discuss the potential contagion between large CeFi companies in crypto who could have exposure to FTX and Alemeda. To hear all this and more, you'll have to tune in!

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Follow Avichal https://twitter.com/avichal

Follow Haseeb: https://twitter.com/hosseeb

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.

- -

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.

Binance is considering acquiring FTX. I never thought I'd type those words. What just happened? How did FTX go from a market-leading exchange to near insolvency? Is there contagion risk, and how will regulators respond? Tune in to find out!

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Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianism

Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_manderson

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

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

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/

- -

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, 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!

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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?

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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.

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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/

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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.

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.

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!

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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

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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

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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

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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, 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!

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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

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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.

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!

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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 

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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

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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, 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!

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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?

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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

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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.