Empire

Samara Cohen, Global Head of Market Development at BlackRock who focuses on market structure and tokenization. She discusses how blockchain and AI will reshape market design. She covers pricing and oracle failures, what tokenized stocks truly represent, and how ETFs and tokenization can work together. She outlines signposts for near‑term tokenization progress and practical advice for builders.

Devin McGranahan, CEO and President of Western Union, leads payments and remittance strategy and explains the firm's push into stablecoins and digital rails. He discusses why Western Union issued USDPT, how stablecoins free up capital while keeping customer experience intact, and plans to scale on Solana and other chains to enable institutional settlement and new payment rails.

Discussion about whether now is the moment to buy the dip and cautious equity moves. A deep look at a crypto VC shakeout and why winners are consolidating. Analysis of extreme token secondary discounts and who is actually buying tokens today. Breakdown of a $280M Drift exploit and broader operational security risks. Conversation about quantum threats to Bitcoin and the hurdles of upgrading to post-quantum security.

Dmitry Tokarev, entrepreneur who built Copper and now leads Bron, appears with a crisp mini bio. He recounts Copper’s origin and scaling pains. He explains Bron’s approach to fixing self-custody with MPC, recovery and fraud defenses. He outlines token mechanics, growth metrics and why solving consumer custody matters for crypto’s future.

A live recap of DAS with conference takeaways and the surprising institutional frenzy. A deep dive into why token prices lag despite big institutional activity. Conversations on angel and venture trends, shifting return expectations, and funds blending AI with crypto. A focused look at Western Union’s stablecoin strategy and the risks around stablecoins and tokenization.

Rawson, an AI investor at Delphi Ventures focused on AI and China, shares fresh takeaways from Delphi’s China trip. He discusses market reactions amid the Iran conflict. He explores Michael Saylor’s end game and the mechanics around MicroStrategy. He highlights where Chinese AI is booming, hardware strengths, valuation froth, and on-the-ground execution differences.

A new investor relations platform uses live onchain data to make transparency and standardization native to crypto. Discussion covers token underperformance, supply inflation, and a widening trust gap despite rising onchain revenues. The stack includes standardized analytics, branded investor portals, and managed IR services to improve engagement and market clarity.

A market roundup covering the Iran conflict’s impact on oil, inflation and risk assets. A deep dive into S&P’s tokenized S&P 500 perps on Hyperliquid and frameworks for valuing Hyperliquid’s revenue and MEV exposure. A breakdown of Tempo’s payments-first mainnet launch, MPP agentic payments and go-to-market threats and opportunities. Discussion of Kraken’s reported IPO delay and broader IPO timing.

A lively debate about converting crypto tokens into equity and what that means for project teams. Detailed breakdown of Across Protocol’s token-to-equity proposal and its market reaction. Discussion of whether tokens help go-to-market or become operational headaches. Coverage of Ripple’s $50B valuation, Kraken’s Fedwire approval, and Mastercard’s crypto partner program.

MC Lader, founder and CEO of Native Markets and creator of USDH, and Jake Chervinsky, former DeFi lawyer turned policy leader, discuss Hyperliquid’s 24/7 markets thesis. They cover why a native stablecoin matters, building USDH, regulatory work to enable on-chain derivatives, TradFi adoption barriers, risk design, and the path to broader liquidity and tokenized real-world assets.