Episodes

  • Movement & Aptos: Making Security Sexy Again | Rushi Manche & Neil Harounian
    May 3 2024
    In this episode, Santi is joined by Neil, head of ecosystem at Aptos, and Rushi, founder of Movement Labs, to discuss the Aptos ecosystem and the Move programming language. They dive into the unique features and benefits of Move, the importance of security in blockchain development, and the collaborative efforts to grow the Move ecosystem. Neil and Rushi also share insights on the impressive growth and adoption of Aptos, as well as their focus on empowering builders and democratizing access to Move. Thanks for tuning in! - - Follow Rushi: https://twitter.com/rushimanche Follow Neil: https://twitter.com/neilhar_ Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel 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/ - - Sei Labs believes the EVM is here to stay. By providing the fastest time to finality of any chain, thousands of transactions per second and full backwards compatibility with the EVM, Ethereum developers can try out a brand new design space for their applications. Try out sei v2 devnet - visit the new sei.io to find out more. - - This episode is brought to you by Aura, the AI-powered digital security protection app that keeps your personal information, passwords, online activity, and tech safe from digital threats. It’s all-in-one protection from identity theft, financial fraud, malware, scams, and more. For a limited time, Aura is offering our listeners a 14-day FREE trial plus up to 55% off an Aura subscription. Visit aura.com/blockworks to sign up for your free trial. - - Mantle Network is an Ethereum Layer 2 that aims to bring super-scalability to Ethereum by taking a modular approach that offers low fees and high security. Mantle recently launched their airdrop program "Rewards Station" to holders of its native token, $MNT. The Rewards Station program distributes pre-sale token allocations or listed token to $MNT holders who stake their $MNT. Check out the rewards station: https://www.mantle.xyz/rewards-station - - Marinade is the leading Solana staking service that spreads your stake across 100+ top validators, distributes MEV rewards, and provides automatic downside protection with new Protected Staking Rewards. Choose to liquid stake for mSOL for use in DeFi, or delegate your stake through Marinade Native, which gives you full custody of your SOL and no smart contract risk. Max performance for you, max performance for Solana. https://blckwrks.co/Marinade - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (06:26) Why Aptos & Move Language (19:18) Institutional Support (29:00) Aptos Roadmap (35:06) Sei ad (36:04) Aura Ad (36:52) Marinade Ad (37:57) Mantle Ad (38:54) Onchain User Behaviors (46:05) TVL Growth Strategy (59:56) Move Alternative Chains (01:09:11) Integrated vs Modular - - 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.
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Time To Buy The Dip? | 1000x
    May 2 2024
    This week we discuss is it time to buy the dip? After calling the local top at $70k, is the setup more bullish now for a continued bull market post halving? We deep dive into the bull case for ETH, finding the next big trade, structuring a trade & finding alpha. Enjoy! -- Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyz Follow 1000x: https://twitter.com/1000xPod Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Perennial is an on-chain derivatives protocol built from first principles to be a DeFi primitive. The core protocol is minimalist, flexible, and efficient, allowing Perennial to mold to the needs of many different users & use cases. Perennial has a super efficient core protocol that lets LPs use native maker leverage — allowing $1mn in TVL to back to $5-10mn in Open interest. Trade and LP at: https://perennial.finance/1000x Social: https://twitter.com/perenniallabs -- Timestamps: (0:00) Turning Bearish At $70k, Time To Flip Bullish? (12:45) Perennial Ad (14:17) The Bull Case For ETH (23:16) Beaten Down Projects, Supply Unlocks & Finding The Next Big Trade (30:51) Staking vs Supply Dilution (32:30) TradFi Risk-Off (38:26) Trade Structure & Grok For Alpha -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on 1000x 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. Avi, Jonah and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
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    52 mins
  • Building the Perfect Crypto Portfolio | Avi Felman & Roshun Patel
    Apr 30 2024
    In this episode, Santi & Jason talk with Avi and Ro about the current state of the crypto market cycle in both private and liquid markets. They discuss Avi's "bearish" outlook driven by diminishing ETF inflows and stablecoin market caps, Ro's perspective on crywpto venture investing, and how this cycle compares to the last one. The conversation dives into the Solana IOUs auction, the upcoming Ethereum ETF catalyst, and the (un)productive nature of assets like Eigen Layer's restaking product and Bitcoin DeFi. Avi and Ro also outline their framework for crypto portfolio construction and the key indicators they watch. The episode concludes with their 12-month price predictions for BTC, ETH and SOL. - - Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Ro: https://twitter.com/roshunpatel Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel 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/ - - Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all. Get started at: portal.arbitrum.io - - This episode is brought to you by Aura, the AI-powered digital security protection app that keeps your personal information, passwords, online activity, and tech safe from digital threats. It’s all-in-one protection from identity theft, financial fraud, malware, scams, and more. For a limited time, Aura is offering our listeners a 14-day FREE trial plus up to 55% off an Aura subscription. Visit aura.com/blockworks to sign up for your free trial. - - SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption. Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork - - Marinade is the leading Solana staking service that spreads your stake across 100+ top validators, distributes MEV rewards, and provides automatic downside protection with new Protected Staking Rewards. Choose to liquid stake for mSOL for use in DeFi, or delegate your stake through Marinade Native, which gives you full custody of your SOL and no smart contract risk. Max performance for you, max performance for Solana. https://blckwrks.co/Marinade - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (04:28) Avi's Bearish Take (09:41) Ro's Private Market Perspective (16:42) Ethereum's Bull Case (27:42) Private & Liquid Ratio (36:49) Arbitrum Ad (37:26) Aura Ad (38:25) Marinade Ad (39:29) SKALE ad (40:46) Solana's Trade (45:44) Cycle Timing & Comparison (54:23) Fundamentals of DeFi (01:01:06) What Everyone is Missing? (01:11:14) Price Predictions - - 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.
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • How to Value L1s, L2s, and Crypto Assets | Kyle Samani
    Apr 26 2024
    In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by special guest Kyle Samani to dive deep into valuing L1 and L2 crypto assets. The conversation covers the importance of MEV as the primary value accrual mechanism rather than transaction fees, the challenges in standardizing valuations across different blockchain architectures, and the evolving fee market designs. They also discuss the true costs and benefits of token airdrops for bootstrapping ecosystems. Thanks for tuning in! Sign up for the Empire newsletter: https://empire-31ed59.beehiiv.com/subscribe - - Resources https://youtu.be/aCHY9iPS8sI?feature=shared https://x.com/kylesamani/status/1721964311008956809 - - Follow Kyle: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel 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/ - - Sei Labs believes the EVM is here to stay. By providing the fastest time to finality of any chain, thousands of transactions per second and full backwards compatibility with the EVM, Ethereum developers can try out a brand new design space for their applications. Try out sei v2 devnet - visit the new sei.io to find out more. - - Mantle Network is an Ethereum Layer 2 that aims to bring super-scalability to Ethereum by taking a modular approach that offers low fees and high security. Mantle recently launched their airdrop program "Rewards Station" to holders of its native token, $MNT. The Rewards Station program distributes pre-sale token allocations or listed token to $MNT holders who stake their $MNT. Check out the rewards station: https://www.mantle.xyz/rewards-station - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - Marinade is the leading Solana staking service that spreads your stake across 100+ top validators, distributes MEV rewards, and provides automatic downside protection with new Protected Staking Rewards. Choose to liquid stake for mSOL for use in DeFi, or delegate your stake through Marinade Native, which gives you full custody of your SOL and no smart contract risk. Max performance for you, max performance for Solana. https://blckwrks.co/Marinade - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:43) Crypto as Commodities (08:50) MEV Fee Stream for Networks (18:53) L1 Token Valuation (21:31) Updated Solana Thesis (33:160 SEI Ad (34:14) Monad Ad (35:12) Marinade Ad (36:17) Mantle Ad (37:14) Fee Markets & Performant Infra Valuations (42:40) Income Statements of L1s & L2s (58:10) Cost of Airdrops - - 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.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Behind the Scenes of Restaking | Brandon Curtis & Myles O'Neil
    Apr 23 2024
    In this deep dive episode, Brandon Curtis (Rio), Myles O'Neil (Reverie), and Ryan West (Blockworks Research) unpack the emerging world of restaking on Ethereum. The conversation starts with a detailed look at the restaking supply chain, from ETH deposits in LRTs to securing AVSs. The group discusses the key differences between LRTs and LSTs, yield strategies, and fragmented user preferences. They also explore the dynamics between LRTs and AVSs, including the leverage AVSs currently have and the challenges with off-chain "handshake" agreements. Thanks for tuning in! - - Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneil Follow Brandon Curtis: https://twitter.com/bcmakes Follow Westie: https://twitter.com/WestieCapital Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel 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/ - - Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all. Get started at: portal.arbitrum.io - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption. Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork - - Marinade is the leading Solana staking service that spreads your stake across 100+ top validators, distributes MEV rewards, and provides automatic downside protection with new Protected Staking Rewards. Choose to liquid stake for mSOL for use in DeFi, or delegate your stake through Marinade Native, which gives you full custody of your SOL and no smart contract risk. Max performance for you, max performance for Solana. https://blckwrks.co/Marinade - - Timestamps: 00:00 intro 02:37 Restaking Supply Chain 10:56 Restaking Today 18:11 LRTs & AVS Dynamics 30:54 LRT Selection Process 41:21 AVS Leverage Advantage 45:21 Arbitrum Ad 46:09 Monad Ad 47:07 Marinade Ad 48:12 Skale Ad 49:28 AVS Security 55:09 LRTs vs LSTs 01:07:06 LRT Risk & Yield Strategies 01:17:07 Native vs External Staking 01:26:26 Eigen Layer Competitors - - 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.
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    1 hr and 40 mins
  • CoinFund's Playbook for a Crypto Supercycle | Jake Brukhman & Seth Ginns
    Apr 19 2024
    In this episode, Jason sits down with Jake Brukhman and Seth Ginns, co-founders and managing partners at CoinFund. They dive deep into CoinFund's origin story, investment philosophy, and how the firm navigates the complex landscape of liquid and venture investing in the crypto space. Jake and Seth share their insights on the current crypto market cycle, drawing comparisons to previous cycles and discussing potential scenarios for how this one may unfold differently. They explore the intersection of AI and crypto, with Jake highlighting the importance of decentralization and democratization in the development of AI to avoid dangerous centralized control by a few big tech companies. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Jake: https://twitter.com/jbrukh Follow Seth: https://twitter.com/sethginns Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel 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/ - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - Marinade is the leading Solana staking service that spreads your stake across 100+ top validators, distributes MEV rewards, and provides automatic downside protection with new Protected Staking Rewards. Choose to liquid stake for mSOL for use in DeFi, or delegate your stake through Marinade Native, which gives you full custody of your SOL and no smart contract risk. Max performance for you, max performance for Solana. https://blckwrks.co/Marinade - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:50) CoinFund Origin Story (12:53) Web2 vs Crypto Venture (27:28) Liquid Investing (36:00) Determining Valuations (44:54) Monad Ad (45:53) Marinade Ad (47:00) Opportunity in Interop (55:32) Market Cycles (01:11:16) Crypto & AI Thesis - - 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.
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Does The Bitcoin Halving Still Matter? | 1000x
    Apr 18 2024
    This week we discuss the current state of crypto after the weekend flash crash. As Bitcoin struggles to break $70,000 with conviction, will the 2024 halving be a strong catalyst for more bullish price action going forward? We also walk through some of crypto's most promising use cases: Ondo, Hyperliquid & Ethena. Enjoy! -- Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyz Follow 1000x: https://twitter.com/1000xPod Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Perennial is an on-chain derivatives protocol built from first principles to be a DeFi primitive. The core protocol is minimalist, flexible, and efficient, allowing Perennial to mold to the needs of many different users & use cases. Perennial has a super efficient core protocol that lets LPs use native maker leverage — allowing $1mn in TVL to back to $5-10mn in Open interest. Trade and LP at: https://perennial.finance/1000x Social: https://twitter.com/perenniallabs -- Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (2:27) Bitcoin Struggles To Break $70,000 (7:11) Risk Of Further Conflict? (16:02) Perennial Ad (17:33) The Bitcoin Halving (24:02) The Bitcoin & Meme Coin Barbell Strategy (32:42) Crypto Use Cases: Ondo, Hyperliquid & Ethena -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on 1000x 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. Avi, Jonah and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
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    48 mins
  • Why Layer 3s are Inevitable | Steven Goldfeder, Co-founder at Offchain Labs
    Apr 16 2024
    In this episode, Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, dives deep into the world of Layer 3 blockchains and their potential to revolutionize Ethereum scaling. The discussion covers the benefits of building on Arbitrum's customizable L3 stack, including reduced onboarding costs and improved data availability. Steven also explores the importance of fraud proofs in ensuring the security of L2 and L3 chains, as well as Arbitrum's community-sourced approach to blockchain development. The conversation touches on the future of DeFi, the role of composability and network effects, and the potential for L3s to abstract away the complexity of the blockchain stack for end-users. Stay tuned for all of this and much more! - - Follow Steven: https://twitter.com/sgoldfed Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel 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/ - - Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all. Get started at: portal.arbitrum.io - - Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses. If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad - - SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption. Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork - - Marinade is the leading Solana staking service that spreads your stake across 100+ top validators, distributes MEV rewards, and provides automatic downside protection with new Protected Staking Rewards. Choose to liquid stake for mSOL for use in DeFi, or delegate your stake through Marinade Native, which gives you full custody of your SOL and no smart contract risk. Max performance for you, max performance for Solana. https://blckwrks.co/Marinade - - Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:52 L2 State of the Union 08:07 L2 vs L3 14:00 User Acquisition Methodology 18:30 Value Accrual of L3s m 24:20 App Chain vs L3 28:46 Not Using Eth Security 36:33 Fraud Proofs 38:21 Arbitrum Ad 49:09 Monad Ad 50:07 SKALE AD 51:24 Higher Throughput Chains 58:31 Why did Coinbase pick OP 01:03:55 End Game of L3s 01:08:06 Why Not Just L1s? 01:14:57 Crypto Network Effects - - 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.
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    1 hr and 28 mins