Empire

Latest Episodes:

Crypto’s Speculation Problem, Regulation Without CLARITY & The Gambling Economy Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Crypto adoption is accelerating, but does that mean token prices follow?

This week, we unpack growing institutional interest in crypto as brokerages and fintechs push onchain, even as CLARITY stalls and memecoin activity dominates.

We explore SEC and CFTC catalysts, Fomo versus Pump.fun, the durability of meme-driven markets, token value accrual, and crypto’s financialization problem. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

02:17 Has Crypto Found A Bottom?

08:22 Can Regulation Replace Clarity?

14:42 Fomo Vs Pump Fun

22:07 How Founders Survive The Reckoning

26:31 Is Crypto Worth The Venture Bet?

34:39 Is Erebor Worth $8 Billion?

41:40 Is Collector Crypt Just Gambling?

48:03 Everything Is Becoming Financialized

54:23 Why Santi Is Long AI

57:26 What Benchmark Gets Right

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said. onEmpire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Morpho Is Coming For The $200 Trillion Credit Market | Paul Frambot Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

Is DeFi’s future invisible financial infrastructure?

This week, Cofounder & CEO of Morpho, Paul Frambot, joins to explore Morpho’s ambition to bring global credit markets onchain for fintechs and institutions.

We discuss Midnight and fixed-rate lending, network effects, token-equity alignment, scaling distribution, and why direction can matter more than speed. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

00:19 Morpho’s Market And Token Thesis

09:00 Ribbit’s Role In Morpho

11:50 Morpho And Midnight Explained

20:42 Why DeFi Becomes Infrastructure

26:29 First Principles Beat Fast Execution

29:30 Building Crypto’s GTM Machine

37:52 Scaling Morpho Without Losing Direction

42:19 Funding A $200 Trillion Ambition

47:47 Where Morpho Grows Next

57:37 Midnight’s Path Beyond Crypto Credit

01:03:18 Agents And The Regulatory Frontier

FOLLOW PAUL

› X/Twitter – https://x.com/PaulFrambot

› Morpho – https://x.com/Morpho

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Venture Mandates, Cloudflare Wallets, Circle Earnings & Saddam Hussein Patek Philippe Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

What separates lasting winners from everyone chasing the next trend?

This week, we dig into why specialization may be the biggest edge in venture investing as crypto, AI, and traditional finance increasingly converge.

We discuss venture mandates, stablecoin competition, Circle's earnings, Cloudflare's agent wallets, and why reputation compounds faster than capital. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

04:05 Crypto Venture Expands Beyond Crypto

09:20 Can Crypto Funds Go Generalist?

16:06 The Hidden Cost Of Dilution

22:43 Crypto Venture Enters Hard Mode

28:39 Ads (Peaq)

29:25 Cloudflare Bets On Agent Wallets

41:04 Is Circle Stock Mispriced?

53:04 Western Union Goes Onchain

01:02:13 Watches And Content Picks

01:09:01 Amazon Discovery Rewrites History

01:11:29 DAS Asia And London Preview

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FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

AI Fatigue, Robinhood & Every Market Becoming Crypto | Weekly Roundup Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

What happens when every market starts trading like crypto?

This week, Santi and Rob examine how leverage, automation, and retail speculation are exporting crypto-style volatility across traditional finance.

They also explore CLARITY’s fading odds, AI fatigue, Robinhood’s onchain expansion, and the battle between public and private tokenization. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

00:58 CLARITY’s Falling Odds

04:54 Everything Trades Like Crypto

08:53 AI Capex and Semiconductor Volatility

12:47 The Death of Long-Term Investing

18:19 Why Market-Neutral Funds Win

20:09 Institutional AI Fatigue

24:22 AI’s Token Economics Problem

25:55 peaq Ad

26:41 AI Token Costs and Model Routing

30:37 Robinhood Chain’s Early Traction

34:13 Prediction Markets Eclipse Crypto

38:51 Ethereum L2 Activity Collapses

45:49 Ondo’s Private Chain Bet

52:18 Stablecoin Adoption and Crypto VC

58:55 Content of the Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Robinhood's Plan to Bring Global Finance Onchain | Johann Kerbrat Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

What happens when Robinhood turns crypto from a trading feature into the backbone of its global financial platform?

This week, Robinhood's GM of Crypto, Johann Kerbrat, explains how Robinhood Chain connects DeFi, tokenized assets, and mainstream users.

We explore global access, permissionless development, strategic partnerships, token economics, and whether equities and crypto eventually converge. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

00:59 Robinhood’s Onchain Vision

04:46 Will Robinhood Move Fully Onchain?

11:07 Inside Robinhood Chain’s Explosive Launch

14:33 Building The Chain For Adoption

16:15 Ads (peaq)

17:00 Building Robinhood’s DeFi Stack

21:20 Why DeFi Partners Stay Independent

26:58 Tokenized Equities Go Global

30:38 Robinhood’s Crypto Growth Strategy

34:52 Competition And Financial Convergence

FOLLOW JOHANN

› X/Twitter – https://x.com/JohannKerbrat

› Robinhood Crypto – https://x.com/RobinhoodCrypto

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

The Bill That Could Reshape Crypto In America with Greg Xethalis from Multicoin Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Is CLARITY the breakthrough crypto needs or just the beginning?

This week, Jason and Multicoin’s Greg Xethalis unpack how the bill could reshape crypto’s regulatory future.

They explore CFTC oversight, token classification, DeFi protections, disclosure requirements, and the fight threatening its passage. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

01:20 How CLARITY Came To Be

07:08 Who Built The CLARITY Act?

11:05 What CLARITY Actually Does

15:13 The New Token Taxonomy

18:13 Ads (Peaq)

18:58 When Is A Blockchain Mature?

23:01 Protecting DeFi And Developers

33:51 The Future Of Token Disclosures

40:14 What CLARITY Could Unlock

44:30 Closing Thoughts

Explore the Machine Economy: https://peaq.xyz

FOLLOW GREG

› X/Twitter – https://x.com/xethalis

› Multicoin – https://x.com/multicoin

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Clarity Window Closing, Robinhood Eating Ethereum Value & Coinbase's Base Reset Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

Crypto's window for regulatory clarity is about to close while Robinhood raises questions about who actually captures the value created onchain.

This week, we unpack Clarity’s narrowing path through Congress and what failure could mean for crypto markets and institutional adoption.

We also debate Ethereum’s economics, Coinbase’s Base reset, the Ostium hack vs instant settlement, and Stripe’s reported PayPal bid. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

01:50 Clarity Act’s Closing Window

08:40 Trump’s Crypto Ethics Roadblock

14:07 What Clarity Means For Markets

18:13 Robinhood Exposes Ethereum’s Value Problem

28:14 Coinbase Resets Base’s Strategy

39:28 Ostium Hack Challenges Instant Settlement

50:50 Stripe’s Bid To Reinvent PayPal

01:04:57 AI Trades And Biohacking

01:10:20 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santiago – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Fomo Co-Founders on Building the Social Network for Finance Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

What happens when crypto finally builds a trading experience for everyone, not just crypto natives?

This week, Jason sits down with fomo co-founders Paul and Se to discuss why consumer crypto has struggled, how fomo is approaching onchain trading differently, and why they believe social finance is the next major platform.

They explore building for mainstream users, the future of tokenized assets, product design tradeoffs, creator-driven distribution, and why transparent onchain data could redefine how investors discover ideas. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

03:35 Why Consumer Crypto Keeps Failing

09:32 Selling The Social Finance Vision

15:57 From Niche App To Breakout

22:22 How Fomo Acquires Users

27:57 Building The Social Trading Layer

34:44 Fees, Perps, And Onchain Competition

43:37 Expanding Beyond Trading Fees

49:12 Funding Growth Through Market Cycles

53:14 Robinhood, X, And Copy Trading

58:00 Media And Frictionless Onboarding

01:04:03 The Everything Trading App

01:09:00 Crypto, Tokens, And Going Public

FOLLOW GUESTS

› Se – https://x.com/seyong

› Paul – https://x.com/paulerlanger

› fomo – https://x.com/fomo

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram –https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Crypto's Value Capture Problem & Why Robinhood Built Its Own Blockchain Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

AI and distribution moats are forcing investors to separate real business transformation from crypto’s unresolved value-capture problem.

This week, Jason and Santi discuss what months of researching crypto adoption taught Inversion, why the firm's investment strategy is evolving, and what it reveals about where value is actually being created today.

They also explore Robinhood's onchain strategy, whether AI is delivering stronger returns than crypto in traditional businesses, the debate over token versus equity value capture, and how the next generation of consumer finance is taking shape. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

03:15 Inversion’s Crypto Thesis Reset

06:17 Where Crypto ROI Breaks

11:58 The Distribution Quality Trap

17:12 Inversion Broadens Its Mandate

22:02 Crypto’s Value Capture Problem

28:00 AI Rewrites Company Workflows

31:45 Ads (Peaq)

33:01 AI Pricing Hits The Limit

39:09 Robinhood Chain Takes Off

48:07 Regulatory Arbitrage Goes Onchain

52:35 Finance For The Next Generation

57:02 The Token Equity Debate

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santiago – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

Explore the Machine Economy: https://peaq.xyz

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

What’s Circle’s End Game, Robinhood Launches A Chain & Venice Raises $65M Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the announcement of OUSD and what it means for the future of Circle. We then deep dive into Robinhood’s recent product launches, Venice’s $65M raise, crypto’s continued discussion around tokens vs. equity, and more. Enjoy!

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

Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM

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

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:52) Did Saylor End Strategy’s Sell Off?

(10:15) The Launch of OpenUSD

(17:49) Should Everyone Launch A Stablecoin?

(32:42) peaq Ad

(33:28) Cloudflare's Monetization Gateway

(38:35) Robinhood Launches A Chain

(56:00) Venice Raises $65M & Crypto’s Token vs Equity Problem

(01:16:14) Content of The Week

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, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

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