Empire

In today's episode of Empire, we discuss Coinbase's journey to become the default gateway to crypto with their new L2. Jason and Santi delve into Coinbase's secret master plan, the impact of Base on Arbitrum and Optimism and the current state of on-chain creativity. Warning: we are bullish.We also cover the recent layoffs and reorgs at Polygon, the closure of Galois Capital, a new CBDC proposal and the misleading claims about Top Shot. Don't miss this episode, where we cover the top stories of the week!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:53) On-chain creativity is at an all-time high(07:04) Coinbase’s secret master plan(39:28) Blockworks Research(41:02) Trouble at Polygon?(46:18) Security is the #1 priority(50:02) Galois Capital shuts down(53:37) Arbitrum, CBDCs and Top Shot- -Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -ResourcesThe Myth of The Infrastructure Phasehttps://www.usv.com/writing/2018/10/the-myth-of-the-infrastructure-phase/Empire's Base interviewhttps://spoti.fi/3KGUIauThe Coinbase Secret Master Planhttps://www.coinbase.com/blog/the-coinbase-secret-master-planEmpire's Cosmos interviewhttps://spoti.fi/41y0xgK- - 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.

Breaking News: Coinbase is launching an L2 on Ethereum called Base!Jesse and Will from Coinbase join us to discuss the news and paradigm shift for Coinbase. We explore why Coinbase is building Base, how Coinbase chose to use the OP tech stack, Base's value proposition, how Coinbase thinks about "competition" building on Base, if Base will have a token and more!--Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:45) Base: Coinbase’s on-chain journey(05:02) Why build Base?(10:10) Leveraging the OP stack(19:10) Why now?(24:41) Base’s value proposition(35:27) Controlling the stack(41:10) Will Base have a token?(44:05) Building a bridge, not an island(46:54) What will Coinbase build on Base?(51:05) What is Base’s business model?(54:34) A culture shift and the on-chain future- -Follow Jesse: https://twitter.com/jessepollakFollow Will: https://twitter.com/willrobinson23Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -ResourcesThe Coinbase Secret Master Planhttps://www.coinbase.com/blog/the-coinbase-secret-master-plan- -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, Pacman (Blur's founder) joins Jason and Santi to discuss how Blur, an NFT marketplace for professional traders, has revolutionized the NFT market. We discuss Blur's business strategy, vertical vs horizontal markets, the creator royalty debate, Blur vs OpenSea and more! This is one of my favorite episodes yet - Pacman is a giga brain.- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:50) Blur’s Unique Design and NFT Strategy(09:23) Incentivizing Liquidity vs Volume(21:30) Blockworks Research(23:05) Thoughts on Uniswap's NFT Strategy(31:40) OpenSea’s Response to Blur(40:30) Blur’s Airdrop Strategy(47:55) Navigating Regulations(49:30) Creator Royalties(56:00) Blur’s Market Unlock- -Follow Pacman: https://twitter.com/PacmanBlurFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -ResourcesBlurhttps://blur.io/https://twitter.com/BlurCrypto- -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 start with a deep regulatory discussion with Kristin Smith and Rebecca Rettig to explore Gary's attack on crypto. We cover the SEC's attack against Kraken and BUSD, tokens as securities, market implications, what to expect next and more!Santi and Jason co-pilot the last 25 minutes to discuss Blur's airdrop, the battle for NFT market share, the L2 wars and Flashbots' new MEV-Share product. This episode covers everything you need to know from this wild week!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:55) An attack on Stablecoins?(06:34) Kraken and staking services(10:22) Why is Gary gunning for crypto?(14:09) The Implications and path forward(27:37) What if tokens were deemed securities?(32:30) Blockworks Research (34:05) How should crypto companies respond?(40:22) Regulation segment recap(51:25) Blur's airdrop, OpenSea losing market share(59:10) L2 Wars, Flashbots MEV-Share, Sushi Studios- -Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Kristin: https://twitter.com/KMSmithDCFollow Rebecca: https://twitter.com/RebeccaRettig1Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -ResourcesBlockchain Associationhttps://twitter.com/BlockchainAssnPolygonhttps://twitter.com/0xPolygonEmpire podcast with Rebecca Rettig and Jake Chervinskyhttps://spoti.fi/3YTMfohFlasbots MEV-Share articlehttp://bit.ly/3S7g9TOCategorizing different zk implementations (a Twitter thread)https://twitter.com/pseudotheos/status/1622698514475061252?s=20- - 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, Camilla McFarland and Avery Akkineni discuss how the world's biggest brands will leverage Web3. Nike, Starbucks, Gucci and many others are already starting to build in crypto, and soon, every brand will have a Web3 strategy. Camilla and Avery explore how brands can leverage Web3 to build customer loyalty, customize user experiences and cater to a digitally-native community. This is one of my favorite episodes yet - it's stable stakes for anyone looking to build or grow a brand!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:36) Defining the Web3 opportunity(09:15) Why will brands embrace Web3?(28:50) Blockworks Research(30:21) How will brands participate?(42:39) How NFTs enable tailored user experiences(48:22) The Tech Stack: EVM dominance(1:05:06) The 5 to 10 year vision- -Follow Camilla: https://twitter.com/camillionaire_mFollow Avery: https://twitter.com/avery_akkineniFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -ResourcesVanyer3https://vayner3.com/Mojitohttps://mojito.xyz/- -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.

There's a heated debate in crypto right now around AppChains and the modular vs monolithic paradigm. That's why we released this special episode today from our other favorite podcast, Bell Curve.Sunny Aggarwal and Dmitriy Berenzon discuss how AppChains enable developers and protocols to customize consensus, cryptography, MEV rules, fees and more. But is this customization worth the fragmentation, start-up costs, lack of tooling and other challenges AppChains face? Tune in to find out!And don't worry - we'll be back to the usual roundup with Jason and Santi next week!- -Timestamps(00:00) A Note from Jason(02:45) Intro: Pre-Interview(05:15) The AppChain Thesis(13:34) Reasons to Build an AppChain(30:00) Blockworks Research ad(31:33) The Downsides and Challenges(46:22) What is Permissioned Blockspace?(53:06) Cosmos vs Ethereum(01:06:28) Solving Interoperability(01:12:12) User Lock-in, Wallets(1:18:00) Recap: Post-Interview- -Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Sunny: https://twitter.com/sunnya97Follow Dmitriy: https://twitter.com/dberenzonSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Bell Curve podcasthttps://spoti.fi/3JWqLmKDmitriy's bloghttps://dberenzon.medium.com/Osmosishttps://osmosis.zone/1k(x)https://1kx.network/- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve or 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. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode of Empire, Sam Kazemian joins Jason and Dan to discuss Frax's mission to build the most widely used stablecoins in DeFi. Sam starts by explaining how Frax has succeeded while other stable protocols have failed, why Frax is eyeing Fed deposits and the strategy behind the "DeFi Trinity". We then explore Frax's new ETH staking product, the stablecoin trilemma, and Sam drops a new product announcement (alpha leak). Don't miss this conversation with one of the brightest minds in DeFi!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:49) - Frax’s Mission(04:41) - How Frax Thrived When Others Failed(09:00) - Fed Deposits, Escaping Regulation and RWAs(17:03) - Public ad(18:53) - Creating Spot Demand and Monetary Premium(26:00) - frxETH and sfrxETH Explained(44:31) - Is Frax’s Focus too Broad?(49:02) - The Stablecoin Trilemma(54:00) - Alpha Leak(55:46) - Update on Frax’s Multisig- -Follow Sam: https://twitter.com/samkazemian?lang=enFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Dan: https://twitter.com/smyyguyFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -This episode is sponsored by Public.com. Go to https://Public.com/empire to move your cash into a Treasury Account today.- -ResourcesFraxhttps://frax.finance/- -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 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.- -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- -Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -ResourcesBell Curve podcasthttp://bit.ly/3HVuKi1LVMH storyhttps://www.ft.com/content/c79eccfc-fca1-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6- -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.- -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- -Follow Hal: https://twitter.com/NorthRockLPFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -ResourcesNorth Rock Digitalhttps://northrockdigital.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 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!- -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”- -Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -ResourcesElectric Capital 2022 Developer Reporthttps://www.developerreport.com/developer-reportRevoke.Cashhttps://revoke.cash/- - 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.