Empire

Latest Episodes:

Do Kwon: Why Terra is Buying $10 Billion Bitcoin Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

On today's episode of Empire, Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Roel Santos are joined by Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs. Do explains Terra’s evolving roadmap, how UST will be the most dominant stablecoin in the interchain world, and why Terra is adopting BTC as a reserve asset. Do is an absolute force - don’t miss his alpha on Terra, Anchor, bridges and more.

Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:14 Stable Coins

04:58 Terra's Beginning

11:48 Terra's Path

35:08 Use Cases

39:07 The Crypto Community

44:36 Seigniorage

50:09 Tradeoffs

54:59 Bitcoin Buys

58:52 Anchor

1:05:44 What's Next

1:08:56 NFTs

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.

The Creator Economy Playbook | Li Jin & Jesse Walden Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

On today's episode of Empire, Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Roel Santos are joined by Li Jin and Jesse Walden of Variant. Bringing their specific expertise on the creator space, Li and Jesse discuss what it means to form a crypto creator economy that not only supports quality content but attracts players to actually invest in the concept. With Jason and Santiago, they cover mainstream adoption, NFTs, what it means to be an owner, and more.

ParaSwap:

If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage.

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Crypto Hacks, Equity vs Tokens & Bitcoin as a Reserve Asset Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

On today's episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santiago go through the latest in crypto news. They dive in by talking wallet security in the wake of Arthur0x's wallet hack, then segue into equity vs. tokens, Bitcoin as a reserve asset, and what the future will hold for hard commodities like gold as BTC becomes foundational to other nation states.

Links discussed:

https://twitter.com/Arthur_0x/status/1506167899437686784

https://cryptohayes.medium.com/energy-cancelled-e9f9e53a50cd

Avalanche:

Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry.

Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/

---

Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

The Future of Play-To-Earn Gaming | Felix Sim & Gabby Dizon Mar 21, 2022

Show notes

Jason and Santiago are joined by Gabby Dizon (co-founder YGG) and Felix Sim (co-founder Salad Venture) for a deep dive into crypto-gaming guilds. We discuss the future of play-to-earn (P2E) and how guilds provide the core infrastructure necessary for gaming's exponential growth.

This is a must-listen if you're curious about how P2E economies work, how guilds add value to the gaming ecosystem, or where P2E gaming is headed in the next 5 to 10 years.

ParaSwap:

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Gmoney on the BAYC x CryptoPunk Acquisition | Weekly Roundup Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

On today's episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Gmoney joins Santiago and Jason to discuss CryptoPunks, IPs, and the creator space in the wake of this week and last week's news. Not only weighing in on the NFT space's tricky relationship with IP and creative commons rights, Gmoney discusses his own journey with self-branding in the space and outside of it. Santiago and Jason also cover $APE and the ApeCoin DAO, the vote results of last week's discussion on Anchor, and more.

Avalanche:

Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry.

Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/

---

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Why Gaming NFTs Will Be Bigger Than Twitch | Justin Kan Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

On today's episode of Empire Jason and Santiago are joined by investor, entrepreneur & Co-Founder of Twitch Justin Kan, for a deep dive into NFTs. Sitting at the crossroads of gaming and NFTs, after launching Fractal, a Solana based marketplace for gaming NFTs, we invited Justin to Empire to discuss what he anticipates for the future.

He shares what it was like after leaving Twitch, getting into crypto, launching Fractal and so much more. Justin provides a look behind the curtain into the fast evolving world of Web 3.0, from the the traditional Web 2.0 and gaming perspective, discussing the new possibilities crypto provides for gamers, streamers & communities online.

ParaSwap:

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Is Anchor’s 19% APY Sustainable | Weekly Round Up Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason is joined by Blockworks Co-founder and On The Margin podcast host Mike Ippolito, Blockworks Markets Strategist Byron Gilliam, and Matthew Hepler, vice president of portfolio management at Arca.

Matt joins the show to discuss Anchor, its upcoming protocol proposal and the sustainability of the protocol’s 19% APY. He also chats about the differences in governance in equities versus crypto.

Jason, Mike and Byron then dive into the hottest stories of the week: the Luna Foundation Guard’s burning of 4.2 million LUNA, Biden’s crypto executive order, Andre Cronje & Anton Nell’s DeFi departure and if we in a bear market as sentiment & Crypto narratives begin to fade.

Avalanche:

Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry.

Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/

---

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Our Institutions Are Failing Us | Andrew Yang Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

On today's episode of Empire Jason & Santiago are joined by Andrew Yang an Entrepreneur, Author & 2020 Presidential Candidate. Andrew joins Jason & Santiago for a conversation to discuss the biggest challenges the U.S faces today. Andrew also shares his thoughts on income inequality, universal basic income, his vision for a multi party system, the growth of Web 3.0 & so much more.

ParaSwap:

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Why DeFi Will Overtake TradFi | Jim Bianco Mar 06, 2022

Show notes

Episode recorded on February 22nd.

On today's episode of Empire Jason & Santiago are joined by Jim Bianco, Founder of Bianco Research, for a conversation on the broader markets, as well as crypto. Jim shares his macro framework for 2022 discussing Fed rate hikes, Biden's inflation problem, recessionary warnings in the bond market, crypto's correlation to traditional markets, DeFi vs CeFi Stablecoin TVL, the complexities of protocol bridging & how the financial system is ready for a new wave of innovation in the form of DeFi.

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

What is SWIFT & How It Affects Russia | Weekly Roundup Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santiago welcome Simon Taylor for a deep dive into the much lauded topic of SWIFT. With the recent sanctions placed on Russia, Simon gives an in depth explanation into what this means for the Russian economy going forward. Simon, Jason & Santiago are here to dispel some misnomers and create a concrete definition of everybody's current question, what is SWIFT?

Simon's SWIFT article

Avalanche:

Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry.

Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/

---

Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M