Empire

Latest Episodes:

Patients, Not Profits, Should Drive Drug Discovery | Vibe Bio, Alok Tayi Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, Santi is joined by Alok Tayi, scientist and founder of Vibe Bio. Alok started Vibe Bio because the biggest obstacle in treating patients with overlooked diseases isn’t finding potential treatments — it’s funding them.

Vibe Bio is leveraging crypto's economic and coordination tools to fund the research and development that the legacy biotech industry ignores. Don't miss this fascinating conversation!

We discuss:

- Vibe Bio's origin story

- How Vibe Bio works

- Big pharma's dilemma

- Why these diseases don't receive funding today

- How to prioritize projects

- Crypto's unique advantages

- The $VIBE token

- How to grow & leverage Vibe's community

- Diseases don't care about interest rates

- Biggest challenges

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Follow Alok: https://twitter.com/aloktayi

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/

(00:00) Introduction

(02:27) Official Vibe Bio Launch

(03:50) The Origin Story

(06:32) How Funding Works in Biotech

(12:15) Vibe Bio's Gameplan

(14:50) Community Inspiration

(17:48) Big Pharma's Dilemma

(19:42) How Has The Community Responded?

(22:25) Why Now?

(24:58) How To Prioritize

(30:42) Paraswap Ad

(31:51) Is There An Adverse Selection Problem

(36:50) Two Key Milestones

(42:17) The Biggest Risks

(45:15) The $Vibe token

(48:18) Does IP matter?

(51:47) Help The Mission

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.

SBF Saves CeFi | DeFi Yields Crash | Voyager, BlockFi & 3AC | Solend | Worst Case Scenario Jun 24, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi discuss CeFi's contagion risk and the fragility in the crypto market.

Prices are crashing, and multiple companies appear to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Is SBF saving the industry? What questions should we all be asking right now? Tune in to find out!

Highlights include:

- What's going on in the markets

- Crypto is transparent but not perfect

- What is crypto's worst-case scenario

- Crypto is transparent but not perfect

- Will 3AC survive

- Voyager joins the illiquidity party

- BlockFi continues to be in pain

- SBF & Alameda swoop in

- Are low DeFi yields existential

- What happened with Solend

- Is it okay if applications are centralized

- -

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

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

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Referenced in the show:

Jason's tweet on 3 phases of a bear market

https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1536365738906202112

Episode with Qiao from Alliance DAO

https://tinyurl.com/4wrkuakz

BitMEX is back and better than ever. Sign up for BitmEX's new Spot Exchange for a chance to win a piece of $500,000 in BTC (new users).

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

Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

(00:00) Introduction

(01:41) Market Update

(04:34) Today's Risk Factors

(08:37) 3AC Crises Update

(13:17) Celsius & sETH Update

(13:45) Voyager & Risk Mgmt

(17:56) How Bad Are Low Yields For DeFi?

(20:16) Bitmex Ad

(21:16) The Question You Should Be Asking

(27:27) When Markets Go Quiet

(29:02) SBF Saves CeFi

(35:04) A Daisy Chain of Yields

(31:02) Solend & Centralization1

(41:33) Topics For Next Week

The Crypto Renaissance Has Begun | Josh Rosenthal Jun 20, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Josh Rosenthal - a former historian turned serial entrepreneur and crypto VC. Josh's encyclopedic knowledge of history - from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and beyond - and ability to draw a throughline between historical events, Web3 and our world today is truly fascinating.

Josh contends that we are living through the greatest Renaissance in history. How will historians look back on today? Tune in to find out.

We discuss:

- medieval life

- what defines a Renaissance

- the advent of a dynamic identity

- signs of a reformation

- what drives history

- layering ownership into communication

- the pendulum between aggregation and decentralization

- how Web3 brings the missing element to the internet

- why we are living through THE greatest Renaissance

- how will society be impacted

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Follow Josh: https://twitter.com/JoshuaRosenthal

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

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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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ParaSwap:

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(00:00) Introduction

(04:07) Medieval You

(10:30) Taking the Red Pill

(17:45) Self-Generating Demand

(21:16)The New Reformation

(27:42) A Recreation of Society

(32:15) Crypto Is A Counterweight To Aggregation

(37:18) Paraswap Ad

(38:26) Choosing Your Identity

(41:59) Synthetic Worlds and Chaotic Change

(46:51) Distinguishing the Institution From The Ideology

(53:37) Zoom Out

(56:46) Our Questions Affect the Outcomes

(57:51) Have We Lost Our Ingenuity?

(1:06:09) Institutions Eventually Give In

(1:07:10) Embracing Pluralism

(1:11:36) What Will the World Look Like?

(1:15:08) Crypto's Impact on the Middle Class

(1:21:18) New Jobs and Opportunities

Market Contagion | stETH fallout | Celsius & 3AC Liquidity Crises | Santi's Investment Strategy Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santi reflect on what might have been the most dramatic week in crypto's history. They explore the market contagion, the fallout, and debate if we've hit rock bottom.

Santi is back in the studio with perfect timing. How is Santi approaching this volatility, is he buying, and what is his updated investment strategy? Tune in to find out.

Highlights include:

- How did this all start

- The effects of quantitative tightening

- Why stETH is causing waves across crypto

- A bank run at Celsius

- Do CeFi companies need more regulation

- Three Arrows Capital insolvency rumors

- Santi's #1 takeaway from this week's drama

- Tether FUD

- The downside of on-chain transparency

- Are Santi and Jason buying back in

- Santi's updated investment strategy

- How to maximize the bear market

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

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

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

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- -

Referenced in the show:

degentrading Twitter thread on 3AC's liquidity crises

https://tinyurl.com/4xer8dzn

Jason's tweet on 3 phases of a bear market

https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1536365738906202112

BitMEX is back and better than ever. Sign up for BitmEX's new Spot Exchange for a chance to win a piece of $500,000 in BTC (new users).

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

Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

(00:00) Introduction

(03:26) How Did We Get Here?

(07:02) A Sudden and Brutal Bear Market

(13:15) Thesis vs Fear Driven

(15:14) Balancing Optimism With Rational Valuation

(18:42) What Is Happening With sETH?

(25:12) Why Celsisus Is In A Liquidity Crunch?

(34:52) Should CeFi Companies Be Regulated Like Banks?

(39:04) Bitmex Ad

(40:05) What's Next For Celsius?

(44:04) Three Arrows Capital is treading water

(51:12) Margin calls, 3AC and risk mgmt.

(55:19) Santi's #1 Takeaway

(1:01:36) Contagion

(1:07:12) Tether FUD

(1:09:47) Negative Consequences of Transparency

(1:13:25) Is This Rock Bottom?

(1:18:32) Santi's Current Strategy

(1:27:52) Patience and Staying In The Game

(1:41:00) Blockworks and Building in a Bear

Can Crypto Find a New Narrative? | Haseeb Qureshi & Tom Schmidt Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Haseeb Qureshi and Tom Schmidt from Dragonfly Capital. Haseeb and Tom are top venture capitalists with unique insights into crypto's current trends, new innovations and market sentiment. If you want expert advice on the market, these are two people you ask.

We discuss:

- the venture capital landscape

- power is shifting to investors

- being long crypto while fighting the Fed

- supercharged crowdfunding

- convertible bonds & debt financing

- the changing meta

- how projects choose where to build

- the end of airdrops

- market outlook

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Follow Haseeb: https://twitter.com/hosseeb

Follow Tom: https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt

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

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

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

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Referenced in the show:

Dragonfly's letter to founders

https://tinyurl.com/493vrmpp

Tom's tweet on Porter Finance

https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt/status/1533779269851176960

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ParaSwap:

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(00:00) Introduction

(01:33) Today's Narrative

(05:25) A venture capitalist perspective

(08:17) Rising interest rates and available capital

(16:15) The big outstanding problems

(21:29) Utilizing debt financing

(27:35) The changing meta

(31:49) Paraswap Ad

(32:58) The layer one wars

(36:00) How projects "shop around" protocols

(39:10) Where should new projects build?

(42:22) The end of airdrops

(47:28) How founders should approach growth

(51:25) Advice on down rounds

(59:32) Public vs Private markets

(1:02:47) How long will the bear market last?

Roundup: BlockFi Down Round | DAOs Scrambling | Cynthia Lummis Bill | FTX vs Coinbase Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Mike discuss the current state of crypto. It's officially a bear market, so how are companies and DAOs responding? What are the stories that you need to know? Tune in to find out.

Highlights include:

Did companies overhire
What happens in a down round
Why we need to separate investors from traders
DAOs look to stables and the need for debt financing
The Coinbase vs FTX strategy debate
Is the Lummis bill good for crypto
Enterprise blockchains are back
Optimism loses 20M OP tokens
ApeCoin DAO sides with Ethereum

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

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

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Referenced in the show:

BlockFi down round

https://tinyurl.com/2tej9jyf

Novogratz says 2/3 of crypto funds will fail

https://tinyurl.com/yh4x2jsu

Lido, FEI and Frax proposals

https://research.lido.fi/t/lido-to-prepare-for-the-bear-market/2318/5

https://tribe.fei.money/t/tip-110-simplify-pcv/4323

https://gov.frax.finance/t/fip-77-20m-fxs-buyback-program-using-twamm/1523

SBF on Empire

https://tinyurl.com/23wp5uza

SBF on Invest Like The Best

https://tinyurl.com/2p8wsdfe

FTX surpasses Coinbase in BTC & ETH spot trading

https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/state-of-the-network-issue-158?s=r

Coinbase job portal

https://coda.io/@coinbase-talent/coinbase-talent-hub/

Richard Burton article on how crypto is like building hardware

https://tinyurl.com/ytww6ap7

Tim Beiko on Bankless

https://tinyurl.com/2vxmcdux

BitMEX is back and better than ever. Sign up for BitmEX's new Spot Exchange for a chance to win a piece of $500,000 in BTC (new users).

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

Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction

(02:45) Down Rounds, Layoffs and Hiring Freezes

(16:40) An Investor Reckoning?

(18:20) Separating Investors vs Traders

(20:05) Frothy Private Markets

(23:50) DAO Treasuries and Debt Financing

(27:53) Questioning Token Buybacks

(32:30) Bitmex Ad

(33:33) FTX Surpassing Coinbase

(40:15) Cynthia Lummis Bill

(45:15) Are Tokens Securities?

(48:21) Salesforce and Enterprise Blockchains

(56:15) Optimism loses $20M OP tokens

(59:45) APE DAO votes on Ethereum

(1:03:40) When ETH merge

The Web3 Founder’s Playbook | Imran Khan, Qiao Wang, AllianceDAO Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Qiao Wang and Imran Khan, core contributors at Alliance DAO (the Y Combinator of Web3). Alliance DAO is a Web3 startup accelerator whose portfolio includes 0x, dYdX, Paraswap, Synthetix and top Web3 protocols.

Qiao and Imran are former founders who now assist Web3's top entrepreneurs in building, launching and growing their products. As a result, the duo has a front-row seat to the latest trends and innovations in crypto. This episode is for you if you want to know what it takes to build a top Web3 product.

We discuss:

- how to think about tokenomics

- why product should come before community

- what tech stack developers are building on

- why Qiao recommends launching your product on Avalanche

- how to scale a team in Web3

- the top 3 things founders should think about

- why you shouldn't start a DAO, and much more!

Follow Qiao: https://twitter.com/QwQiao

Follow Imran: https://twitter.com/Imrankhan

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

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

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

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Referenced in the show:

Empire's previous episode with Qiao & Imran

https://tinyurl.com/bznjm8ub

Alliance DAO

https://alliance.xyz/

Qiao's "Common Pitfalls for Web3 Founders" post

https://twitter.com/QwQiao/status/1503365524272689156

Imran's tweet thread on "leveraged CAC"

https://twitter.com/lmrankhan/status/1501247894325768194

Imran's tweet on a Robinhood acquisition

https://twitter.com/lmrankhan/status/1527353717741490178

Imran's tweet on DAO treasuries growing to $11B

https://twitter.com/lmrankhan/status/1517551697148747777

The Obol staking protocol

https://obol.tech/

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ParaSwap:

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(00:00) Introduction

(01:37) State of The Market

(06:37) Is This Crypto's Last Cycle?

(11:24) The Best Time To Launch A Product

(12:49) Leveraged Customer Acquisition Cost

(16:09) Don't Start Your Company As A DAO

(18:02) Paraswap Ad

(19:09) Why Do We Even Need DAOs?

(21:26) Building Community Around A Project

(24:47) Scaling a Team In Web3

(26:55) The Use Case for Creator DAOs

(30:22) How Do Builders Choose Which Platform to Build On?

(35:42) Will Talent Flock to Ethereum L2s?

(38:49) Web3 Unit Economics

(42:38) Top 3 Things Founders Should Focus On

(45:04) How to Think About Community

(48:43) Is Coinbase undervalued?

(49:59) Will Robinhood Be Acquired in 2022?

(51:25) Coinbase vs FTX

(51:56) Where is the NFT Market Headed?

(55:08) Lido's Future Dominance

Is Crypto an Investable Asset Class? | Weekly Roundup Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

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:

Why Byron frames crypto as commodities, not equities
How private markets are losing their advantage
Why crypto may be amazing for users, but a bad investment
How OpenSea's insider trading news will affect other Web3 companies
What happened with Optimism's airdrop
Can L2s find a sustainable revenue model
How BTC mining could fuel growth in renewable energy
Byron questions if MEV is crypto's only use case
Why UST's collapse was not crypto's Lehman moment
and much more!

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Follow Byron: https://twitter.com/bgilliam1982

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

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

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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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BitMEX is back and better than ever. Sign up for BitmEX's new Spot Exchange for a chance to win a piece of $500,000 in BTC (new users).

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

(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

The Everything Bubble | Charles Cascarilla May 30, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Charles Cascarilla, co-founder of Paxos, to discuss the state of the market. How did we get here, and what should we expect next?

Show highlights include:

How the everything bubble started in 1995
What tradeoff the Fed has to make
How low interest rates perpetuated the greatest lie
The 3 likely scenarios going forward
How Paxos plans to bring $700T of assets on chain
Why stablecoins aren't actually stable
What Richard is looking forward to next

- -

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

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ParaSwap:

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Referenced in the show:

Paxos Website

https://paxos.com/

Charles on "Invest Like the Best" (2019)

https://tinyurl.com/32x95pfb

Charles on "Invest Like the Best" (2020)

https://tinyurl.com/2p92aszt

(00:00) Introduction

(01:12) The Macros Mess

(08:17) The Everything Bubble

(10:27) How To Invest In This Environment

(13:06) What is Bitcoin's Narrative?

(18:34) BTC and Crypto's Outlook In A Macro Bear Market

(24:18) Short Or Long-Term Pain?

(28:05) Paraswap Ad

(29:13) Almost All Stablecoins Aren't Stable

(35:54) Paxos Aims To Bring All Assets On Chain

(38:28) Privacy Is A Requirement For Adoption

(40:17) Crypto's Unlock

(43:32) What Projects Emerge From The Bear?

(45:35) The Most Exciting Thing in Web3 Today

Bear Market Advice | Weekly Roundup May 27, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santiago discuss how to navigate the current bear market. Things aren't looking pretty, but this isn't the team's first rodeo. The duo explores what to expect, how to stay in the game and where opportunities might emerge. Highlights include:

where will crypto's total market cap bottom?
are Jason and Santi buyers at these prices?
why are funds ignoring liquid markets?
how founders should approach the bear
thoughts on a16z's new $4.5B fund
will Coinbase be acquired? and much more

- -

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

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

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

Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7

Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw

- -

Referenced in the show:

Chris Dixon Permissionless Keynote

https://youtu.be/Znkpa64J7qA

Santi's Coinbase Acquisition Tweet

https://twitter.com/santiagoroel/status/1525941336070922242

Bill Gurley's "All In" Panel

https://youtu.be/lcyec3pvAEY

- -

BitMEX is back and better than ever. Sign up for BitmEX's new Spot Exchange for a chance to win a piece of $500,000 in BTC (new users).

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

(00:00) Introduction

(01:11) Crypto Marketing

(04:04) Why Santi Missed Permissionless

(05:45) Advice For This Bear Market

(17:32) A 16z Raises 4.5B

(22:04) How Founders Can Embrace The Bear

(26:34) ETH And Assessing Value Today

(29:13) Overleveraged

(33:05) How Capital Calls Work

(34:55) Will Funds Leave The Space?

(37:00) Bitmex Ad

(38:02) When Do You Buy?

(45:10) Stay In The Game?

(47:16) Coinbase Acquisition Thesis

(53:07) Three Leading Indicators

(54:07) Smaller Funds Underwater

(57:35) Liquid Assets Have Been Ignored

(1:00:27) Investing Isn't Easy

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