Empire

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INVESTING
UPDATED WEEKLY

Empire features interviews with top crypto founders to get the real stories that aren’t shared elsewhere. Empire is your look behind the curtain of the crypto industry. We release two episodes per week: guest interviews on Monday and a weekly roundup on Friday.

47 MIN AGO

How To Make DeFi Great Again | Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic & Luca Prosperi

This week, Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic & Luca Prosperi join the show to discuss what's next for DeFi in 2026. We deep dive into why are rates so low in DeFi today, how to mitigate risk, the growth of stablecoins, the fallout from Drift's exploit, the opportunity for prediction markets and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Adrian: https://x.com/adcv_ Follow Luca: https://x.com/LucaProsperi Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- Referenced in the show: https://kitchen.steakhouse.financial/ # 68 | The Physics of On-Chain Lending (I): https://dirtroads.substack.com/p/68-the-physics-of-on-chain-lending?triedRedirect=true -- ZKsync is the Bank Stack of Ethereum. It is a network of chains secured by cryptography, not validators. Its cutting-edge ZK innovation enables the privacy, performance and connectivity that businesses need to thrive in the digital assets economy. To find out more visit: https://www.zksync.io/ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:42) Why Are Rates in DeFi So Low? (16:32) The Physics of Onchain Lending (24:33) ZKsync Ad (25:16) The Biggest Risk In DeFi Today (52:58) What’s Next For DeFi In 2026 & Beyond? (01:02:18) How To Mitigate Risk In DeFi (01:09:43) Fallout From Drift’s $280M Exploit (01:15:15) Prediction Markets (01:19:52) What's Exciting In Crypto Today? -- 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.

1hr 27min
3 DAYS AGO

Why DeFi Is Unattractive, Claude Mythos and Cryptos's Biggest Winners

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the biggest problem within DeFi today. We then deep dive into Anthropic's announcement of Mythos, the state of crypto fundraising, the biggest winners in crypto today, are we buying the dip and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- ZKsync is the Bank Stack of Ethereum. It is a network of chains secured by cryptography, not validators. Its cutting-edge ZK innovation enables the privacy, performance and connectivity that businesses need to thrive in the digital assets economy. To find out more visit: https://www.zksync.io/ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:32) Why Is DeFi Unattractive? (26:45) ZKsync, Blockworks IR (28:16) Anthropic Announces Mythos (49:46) What’s Happening In Crypto Fundraising? (57:34) The Biggest Winners in Crypto Today (01:04:45) Are We Buying The Dip? (01:13:35) 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.

1hr 16min
4 DAYS AGO

Hivemind: Ceasefire In Iran, Is AI a Bubble & Drift Exploited For $280M

This week, the Hivemind team breaks down the ceasefire in Iran and how it could impact markets going forward. We then deep dive into the 2026 IPO window, is AI a bubble, the fallout of Drift's $280M exploit, Polymarkets recent announcement and more. Enjoy! -- To stay up to date with future Hivemind episodes: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2AE858NXDnaIlXP6sWfLj6?si=2019bc45ec914220 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hivemind/id1704667885 -- Follow Ceteris: ⁠https://x.com/ceterispar1bus⁠ Follow Jason: ⁠https://x.com/3xliquidated⁠ Follow Yan: https://x.com/YanLiberman Follow Jose: https://x.com/ZeMariaMacedo Follow Kevin: https://x.com/Kevin_Kelly_II Follow Empire: ⁠https://x.com/theempirepod⁠ Subscribe on YouTube: ⁠https://bit.ly/4jYEkBx⁠ Subscribe on Apple: ⁠https://bit.ly/3ECSmJ3⁠ Subscribe on Spotify: ⁠https://bit.ly/4hzy9lH⁠ -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: ⁠https://blockworks.co/newsletter/⁠ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:50) State of The Market (09:53) Finding Opportunities In Crypto (15:15) Is AI In a Bubble? (26:35) The Return of Active Investing (37:42) Prediction Markets (51:40) The Drift Exploit Fallout -- 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, the Hivemind team, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

1hr 8min
6 APR

Paxos CEO on Crypto Today & Why Stablecoins Are Exploding | Charles Cascarilla

This week, Charles Cascarilla joins the show to discuss the current state of crypto and the future of Paxos. We deep dive into Paxos’ origin story and business model, the growth of stablecoin payments, whether Paxos may look to IPO in 2027, Charles' advice for founders and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Charles: https://x.com/chadcascarilla Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- ZKsync is the Bank Stack of Ethereum. It is a network of chains secured by cryptography, not validators. Its cutting-edge ZK innovation enables the privacy, performance and connectivity that businesses need to thrive in the digital assets economy. To find out more visit: https://www.zksync.io/ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:03) The State of Crypto Today (22:24) How To Fix The U.S Debt Problem (32:24) ZKsync Ad, Blockworks IR (33:56) Behind The Paxos Business Model (43:32) Why Binance’s $BUSD Would Have Been The Largest Stablecoin (50:12) The GENIUS Act & The Global Dollar Network (59:46) Agentic Payments (01:05:32) Will Paxos IPO? (01:17:06) Advice For Founders -- 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.

1hr 22min
4 APR

Making Tokenization a Reality: Bringing Assets Onchain | Samara Cohen

Making Tokenization a Reality: Bringing Assets Onchain Speakers: Samara Cohen, Jason Yanowitz This is a panel from DAS New York 2026. To explore more Blockworks events, visit blockworks.co/events

20 min
4 APR

Western Union CEO: Western Union's Stablecoin Future

Inside Western Union's Stablecoin Fueled Future Speakers: Jason Yanowitz, Devin McGranahan This is a panel from DAS New York 2026. To explore more Blockworks events, visit blockworks.co/events

25 min
3 APR

The Two Biggest Issues In Crypto Today | Weekly Roundup

This week, we’re back with another roundup covering whether it’s time to buy the dip, crypto’s VC mass extinction event, the state of secondary markets, Drift’s $280M exploit, Bitcoin’s quantum threat and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- ZKsync is the Bank Stack of Ethereum. It is a network of chains secured by cryptography, not validators. Its cutting-edge ZK innovation enables the privacy, performance and connectivity that businesses need to thrive in the digital assets economy. To find out more visit: https://www.zksync.io/ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (05:34) Time To Buy The Dip? (10:42) Crypto’s VC Mass Extinction Event (23:55) Crypto's Token Reset (39:25) ZKsync Ad (40:07) Blockworks Investor Relations (40:58) Drift Exploited For $280M (59:28) Bitcoin's Quantum Threat (01:10:18) 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.

1hr 14min
30 MAR

Copper Founder: Building a Billion Dollar Company & Fixing Crypto Custody

This week, Dmitry Tokarev joins the show to discuss how he built one of crypto's largest institutional custody platforms. We deep dive into the Copper origin story, what's broken with crypto custody today, Dmitry's new venture (Bron) and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Dmitry: https://x.com/tokarev_d Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- ZKsync is the Bank Stack of Ethereum. It is a network of chains secured by cryptography, not validators. Its cutting-edge ZK innovation enables the privacy, performance and connectivity that businesses need to thrive in the digital assets economy -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (05:14) The Copper Origin Story (14:55) How To Scale a Company (19:07) ZKsync Ad (19:50) Blockworks Investor Relations (20:40) Building Bron: How To Fix Crypto Custody (34:18) Why Bron Is Launching a Token (43:10) Lessons Learned From Fundraising (48:35) What To Own in 2026? -- 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.

54 min

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Empire features interviews with top crypto founders to get the real stories that aren’t shared elsewhere. Empire is your look behind the curtain of the crypto industry. We release two episodes per week: guest interviews on Monday and a weekly roundup on Friday.