In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason is joined by Byron Gilliam - a markets strategist and author of the Blockworks newsletter. Often called the Matt Levine of Web3, Byron brings his traditional finance experience to crypto with a mix of wisdom and wit.

Jason and Byron cover this week's biggest stories and explore crypto's outlook as an investable asset class. Episode highlights include:

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Referenced in the show:

Byron's Newsletter

https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

0xHamZ tweet on $100B required market inflows

https://twitter.com/0xHamz/status/1530222542413234176

Arthur Hayes article

https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/shut-it-down-15d230b28089

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Learn more about them at https://www.bitmex.com/

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(00:00) Introduction

(01:26) Byron's Evolving View on Crypto

(05:50) Lack of moats and risk taking founders

(11:28) Byron's investment outlook

(13:30) The private market arbitrage

(16:25) OpenSea insider trading

(23:49) Optimism's Airdrop

(27:18) Bitmex Ad

(33:08) Public goods & Layer 2 tokens

(36:28) Oil companies working with BTC miners

(38:51) Is everything just MEV?

(42:39) Crypto's structural selling

(46:31) No profits, just circular pricing

(48:13) Trust in Tether

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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.