Empire

Latest Episodes:

L2s Won’t Scale Ethereum | Multicoin Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

Although our guests this week are managing partners of a registered investment adviser, nothing in this podcast is investment, tax, legal or other financial advice.

In this episode of Empire, Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain of Multicoin join us in their first public discussion since the fall of FTX and Solana's crash. We start with a detailed discussion about Multicoin's relationship with SBF and FTX: how they met, their views on SBF, watching the blow-up and the implications for Multicoin's fund.

Kyle and Tushar then explain why they are still betting big on Solana, why most funds don't earn excess returns, how L2s offer false security, why defi isn't ready yet, prioritizing speed of security and more! Prediction: This will be the best episode of 2023.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:37) SBF and FTX Backstory

(15:48) Multicoin’s Solana Bet

(23:04) Quicknode

(24:51) Synthetix

(26:34) Conviction, Sizing and Earning Excess Returns

(33:43) The Intersection of AI and Crypto

(42:15) Why DeFi Isn’t Ready

(45:50) Decentralized Sequencers and the EVM

(52:51) Poritizing Speed and L2 [False] Security

(01:01:33) Multicoin’s Bet on Filecoin

(01:08:47) BTC and the SoV Use Case

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Follow Kyle: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani

Follow Tushar: https://twitter.com/TusharJain_

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This episode is brought to you by Quicknode. QuickNode is an end-to-end blockchain developer platform that makes building Web3 apps easy. Go to QuickNode.com and use code Empire for a free month on their feature-packed Build Plan!

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This episode is brought to you by Synthetix. Synthetix Perps is the most efficient decentralized perpetual futures engine, with 5/10 bp fees and up to 25x leverage. With a growing list of over 20 tradable markets, Synthetix Perps are available on Optimism via Kwenta.io and Polynomial.fi, with more coming soon! As a permissionless liquidity layer, Synthetix makes it easy for any protocol to integrate perps and earn 5%-10% of trade fees.

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Resources

Multicoin Capital

https://multicoin.capital/

https://twitter.com/MulticoinCap

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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.

ETH's Shapella Upgrade: Bull vs Bear | Roundup Apr 14, 2023

Show notes

In today's episode, Jason and Santiago discuss the bull vs bear case for ETH's Shapella upgrade. Since December 2021, ETH staking was one way. You could stake your ETH, but it was locked until the Shapella upgrade finally arrived. Shapella is here, and ETH is unlocked for the first time! Does this mean a giant supply of ETH sell pressure will hit the market? Will institutions embrace ETH now that Ethereum's roadmap is de-risked? Tune in to find out!

We also discuss the NFT killer use case, Multicoin's L2 thesis and if the bear market has ended!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:23) NFT NYC and the NFT Killer Use Case

(12:47) Shapella is Here

(26:04) “Valora Ad”

(27:10) Multicoin’s Thesis: Solana, L2s & Speed vs Security

(43:37) Is the Bear Market Over?

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

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This episode is brought to you by Valora. Valora is a self-custody, mobile-first wallet... and the easiest way to send, swap, collect and purchase digital goods on the Celo blockchain. Download the app and start exploring today at valoraapp.com/empire.

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Resources:

ETH Withdrawal Dashboard

https://app.metrika.co/ethereum/dashboard/withdrawals-overview?tr=1d

ETH Staking Dashboard

https://dune.com/hildobby/eth2-staking

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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.

What DeFi Get’s Wrong About RWAs | Robert Leshner Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, Robert Leshner - founder of Compound Labs - joins us to discuss how DeFi will evolve in the wake of Operation Choke Point 2.0 and the coordinated effort to debank crypto. We discuss what this means for today's DeFi protocols, the end of the DeFi Mullet thesis and how teams will respond. Then we explore Robert's thoughts on why MakerDAO's RWA strategy is short-sighted, the stablecoin landscape, the AppChain thesis and more!

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:24 Operation Choke Point 2.0

07:24 Compound Treasury and the DeFi Mullet

11:19 The Return of DeFi?

16:09 BTC vs ETH

19:17 Building in the US vs Offshore

26:25 Real World Assets

28:52 Quicknode ad

30:38 Synthetix Ad

32:17 Stablecoin Landscape

39:48 The AppChain Thesis and Value Accrual

48:24 Reputation, Limit Orders and Security

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Follow Rob: https://twitter.com/rleshner

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Resources

Compound

https://compound.finance/

Bell Curve, S4 Premiere: A Journey Into The Dark Forest

https://spoti.fi/3MpTjWH

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ETH L2s Have The Same Flaws As Alt L1s | Roundup Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

In today's episode, we debate Mike's tweet that Eth L2s have every feature Alt L1s are criticized for: centralized, downtime, opaque resource allocation and wild valuations. To get close to the metal, we compare Solana vs Arbitrum based on economics, network effects and future roadmap. If you listen to one conversation this week, this is it.

We also discuss Arbitrum's governance debacle, the value of protocol BD deals, a $25M MEV exploit, Euler's $200M recovery and Shanghai predictions!

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

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

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

Follow Miles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneil

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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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This episode is sponsored by Public.com. Put your cash to work in a Treasury Account on https://Public.com/empire and get access to a 5.3% yield today!

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Resources

Mike's Eth L2 vs Alt L1 debate tweet

https://twitter.com/mikeippolito_/status/1642262306712109057

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The Cosmos SDK of Rollups | Preston Evans, Sovereign Labs Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

Today's episode is a bonus episode from our podcast 0xResearch, produced by the Blockworks Research team. This is one of my favorite episodes they've done, a deep dive into the future of rollups, scaling and zk-tech. The first 15 minutes is the "analyst bullpen" segment on Arbitrum's recent governance debacle, followed by an interview with Preston Evans from Sovereign Labs (use the Timestamps if you want to skip ahead). If you enjoy this episode, follow the link in the show notes below to subscribe!

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Join us on 0xResearch as we interview Preston Evans, the Chief Scientist of Sovereign Labs. Why should you care about Sovereign? Because they're building the Sovereign SDK. Like the Cosmos SDK that enables modular plug-and-play experimentation for L1s, the Sovereign SDK is a modular toolkit for building zk-rollups on any chain with seamless composability. In this episode, we discuss how Sovereign's design compares to the Cosmos SDK and IBC, smart contract vs Sovereign rollups, the role of data availability, decentralized sequencer design and more! This is my favorite 0xResearch episode yet.

And as usual, we start the episode with our analyst bullpen to discuss the recent governance drama at Arbitrum!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:45) Arbitrum's Governance Blunder

(15:04) Blockworks Research

(16:03) Interview Start: What is Sovereign?

(22:23) The Sovereign SDK vs Cosmos SDK

(23:59) Settlement on Smart Contract vs Sovereign Rollups

(28:14) The Role of Data Availability

(32:24) Decentralized Sequencers

(37:54) Optimistic Rollup Tradeoffs

(41:24) Composability and IBC

(52:22) What Is Sovereign’s X Factor?

(54:17) Building Rollups on Bitcoin

(59:11) Sovereign’s Business Model and Timeline

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Follow Preston: https://twitter.com/prestonevans__

Follow Westie: https://twitter.com/WestieCapital

Follow Dan: https://twitter.com/smyyguy

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Follow Purplepill: https://twitter.com/purplepill3m

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Resources:

Delegate ARB to Blockworks Research

https://twitter.com/blockworksres/status/1639279479368368132

Sovereign Labs

https://www.sovereign.xyz/

https://twitter.com/sovereign_labs

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Check out Blockworks Research today! Research, data, governance, tokenomics, and models – now, all in one place

Blockworks Research: https://www.blockworksresearch.com/

Free Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on 0xResearch 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. Dan, Sam, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Centralized Insanity: Kain Warwick, Synthetix Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, we are joined by Kain Warwick, founder of Synthethix and crypto OG. Kain explains the concept of centralized insanity and how crypto is finally ready for the next bull cycle. We cover Synthetix's evolution, Ethereum's outlook, crypto infrastructure, what will cause the shift to decentralized products, DeFi's most important metric and more! Kain is one guest you won't want to miss!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:18) DeFi Summer 2020

(05:29) The Synthetix Evolution

(09:29) Ethereum’s Outlook and Alt L1 Cycles

(23:25) A Shift From Infra to Apps

(27:47) Quicknode Ad

(29:34) Synthetix Ad

(31:13) Centralized vs Decentralized Trading

(36:20) Regulators are Stuck in the Past

(43:43) Future of Stablecoins

(47:08) Centralized Insanity, Base and DeFi Summer 2.0

(52:43) A Focus on Revenue

(01:01:30) Synthetix v3 and the Value of Composability

(01:18:34) Fire Round

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Follow Kain: https://twitter.com/kaiynne

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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

Synthetix

https://synthetix.io/

https://twitter.com/synthetix_io

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The Day DeFi Almost Died | Ben Forman Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

Today we are joined by Ben Forman, one of the most prolific investors in crypto, to discuss the day DeFi almost died: Black Thursday. The industry was a few liquidations away from an extinction event. Tune in to hear the riveting story and how Black Thursday has shaped MakerDAO and crypto's development!

We also discuss why Ben believes RWAs and permissioned DeFi is the next narrative, Binance FUD, investing in private vs liquid markets, return dispersion, incoming regulation and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:34) Binance FUD: Signal or Noise?

(07:36) Operation Choke Point 2.0

(11:19) Return Dispersion

(16:29) The Moment of Reckoning

(23:16) Base’s Market Impact

(26:16) Early Stage vs Liquid Market Investing

(38:35) MakerDAO’s Black Thursday Almost Killed DeFi

(45:50) “Valora Ad”

(46:50) The State of DeFi

(54:07) USDC, A Structural Reset and Regulation

(1:05:00) Tokenization of RWAs and Permissioned DeFi

(1:08:00) Key Learnings and Fire Round

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

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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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Celo: An L1 Focused On Real World Use Cases | Marek Olszewski, Rene Reinsberg Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, I'm joined by Marek Olszewski and Rene Reinsberg to discuss how Celo is building an L1 focused on a mobile-first user experience and real-world use cases. We start with the Celo origin story and how Celo is building scalable tech while maintaining the focus on where it belongs: the user. Marek and Rene explain how Celo and Valora (Celo's wallet) provide the infrastructure used by local communities throughout the globe to provide real-world use cases for payments and restorative finance. We then explore Celo's partnership with Deutsche Telekom, why Celo is an L1 and not a rollup, the importance of on/off ramps and more!

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Follow Marek: https://twitter.com/marek_

Follow Rene: https://twitter.com/RegenRene

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Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j

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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

Celo

https://celo.org/

https://twitter.com/CeloOrg

Valora

https://valoraapp.com/about

https://twitter.com/Valora

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Morgan Stanley: Could A Banking Crisis Drive Adoption? Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, we are joined by Amy Oldenburg and Andrew Peel from Morgan Stanley to discuss how the banking crises will impact crypto's adoption. We start by exploring how far the banking crises will go, the similarities between today and 2008, and the market outlook. Amy and Andrew then explain how crypto is prime for adoption in a world that desperately needs new banking rails and an alternative store of value. We discuss institutional adoption, ETH vs BTC, why BTC just had its most important rally and more!

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Follow Amy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-oldenburg-395b09

Follow Andrew: https://twitter.com/andrewlpeel

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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

Morgan Stanley

https://www.morganstanley.com/

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Crypto's End Game: Coinbase vs the SEC | Roundup Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

Crypto's timeline keeps getting more surreal and the SEC just added fuel to the fire by issuing a Wells Notice to Coinbase. In this episode, we explore the implications for Coinbase, BTC's opportunity and why crypto isn't going anywhere. This podcast will make you sweat it's so hot

We then discuss Arbitrum's airdrop, the wild Euler x Ronin hacker story, DeFi Llama drama and more. Tune in for this epic episode!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:38) Coinbase receives SEC Wells Notice

(18:20) BTC’s path to mass adoption

(30:00) Self-custody, regulation & crypto’s staying power

(50:20) Abritrum’s airdrop

(50:29) Blockworks Research

(56:55) Wild Euler x Ronin hacker story

(1:00:35) DeFi Llama Drama

(1:03:37) Sushi subpoena, Do Kwon and Justin Sun

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

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/

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Resources

Bell Curve podcast

https://spoti.fi/42uqCxH

Blockworks' Grantfarm

https://blockworks.co/grantfarm

Arbitrum Airdrop dashboard by Blockworks Research

https://dune.com/blockworks_research/arb-airdrop

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