Empire

4.8 (165)
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.

2d ago

Which Businesses Will Survive AI? | Michael Dempsey

Will the AI labs eat everything or is tech just too sure of itself to tell what actually lasts? This week, Compound's Michael Dempsey explains why he invests against the herd in a market running on FOMO. We explore which SaaS companies survive AI, why sentiment has turned against tech, his case for a historic decade in bio, and why crypto venture went quiet while onchain assets got interesting. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:29 How Do You Invest Without FOMO? 08:30 Is The AI Boom Built To Last? 12:32 Will AI Labs Eat Every Startup? 17:19 Ads (Fidelity Crypto) 17:52 Which Software Companies Survive AI? 24:35 Why Is Tech Losing Public Trust? 33:56 Ads (Fidelity Crypto) 34:35 Gambling, Inequality, And Financial Nihilism 40:03 Has Tech Lost Its Soul? 43:54 How Compound Finds Its Next Bets 55:36 Can AI Transform Biotech? 01:03:39 Why Still Invest In Crypto? 01:08:04 Which Crypto Companies Could Go Public? FOLLOW GUEST › Michael – https://x.com/mhdempsey › Compound – https://www.compound.vc/ FOLLOW THE SHOW › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks SPONSORS › Fidelity Crypto was built in-house with over a dozen years of crypto experience. So you can trade crypto and stocks in one place at Fidelity, backed by industry-leading security. Fidelity Crypto. We're here to help you feel good about investing in crypto. Crypto is offered by Fidelity Digital Assets, NA, is not insured by FDIC or SIPC and includes risk of significant loss. Securities offered by Fidelity Brokerage Services,LLC. Member NYSE, SIPC. http://fidelity.com/crypto EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11 https://blockworks.com/events RESOURCES › Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection: https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era › Start building with the Blockworks Unified API https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
5d ago

Is The AI Debt Bubble Finally Popping? | Weekly Roundup

Is AI's infinite capital era finally running out of road? This week, we unpack the AI bloodbath and why credit markets are flashing warnings while crypto quietly holds its ground. We explore Anthropic's growth scare, Yano's AI survival tiers, why everyone's talking about Pearl, and whether regulators will ever allow global liquidity. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:24 AI Sells Off, Crypto Holds Up 05:20 Is CoreWeave Facing A Debt Crisis? 10:14 Can Frontier Models Make Money? 16:20 Ads (Fidelity Crypto, DAS London) 17:30 Which AI Businesses Survive? 21:52 Who Wins As AI Gets Cheaper? 27:15 Ads (Fidelity Crypto, DAS London) 28:41 What Stood Out At Token2049? 31:49 Can AI Mining Challenge Bitcoin? 36:09 Does Pearl’s Mining Model Work? 40:23 What’s Next For Crypto Exchanges? 50:26 Will Stablecoins Replace National Currencies? 59:45 Content Of The Week FOLLOW THE SHOW › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyano. itz › Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel › Rob – https://x.com/HadickM › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks SPONSORS › Fidelity Crypto was built in-house with over a dozen years of crypto experience. So you can trade crypto and stocks in one place at Fidelity, backed by industry-leading security. Fidelity Crypto. We're here to help you feel good about investing in crypto. Crypto is offered by Fidelity Digital Assets, NA, is not insured by FDIC or SIPC and includes risk of significant loss. Securities offered by Fidelity Brokerage Services,LLC. Member NYSE, SIPC. http://fidelity.com/crypto EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11 https://blockworks.com/events RESOURCES › Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection: https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era › Start building with the Blockworks Unified API https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Oct 12

Kamino's Plan To Make Tokenized Assets Actually Useful | Michael Weisz

Is tokenization pointless until you can borrow against it? This week, we sit down with Kamino's new CEO Michael Weisz on why he left fintech to build the onchain credit layer. We explore Kamino's invisible distribution strategy, why Goldman won't lend on private assets, why venture can't be collateral yet, and how his upside rides on $KMNO. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:54 Why Leave Fintech For Crypto? 05:43 Why Join Kamino? 10:01 Kamino’s Vision For Onchain Finance 14:06 Who Owns The Customer Relationship? 17:13 Bringing Institutions Onchain: Four Pillars 23:34 Why Private Assets Need Onchain Credit 27:23 Which Assets Make Good Collateral? 33:27 Can DeFi Attract Top Asset Managers? 39:18 Running Kamino Like A Public Company 43:28 How Do Collateral And Liquidations Work? 46:45 Why Choose Tokens Over Equity? 50:05 Building Kamino’s Team 52:49 Final Thoughts FOLLOW GUEST › Michael – https://x.com/WeiszM › Kamino – https://kamino.com/earn/lend FOLLOW THE SHOW › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit London Nov 10-11 https://blockworks.com/events RESOURCES › Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection: https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era › Start building with the Blockworks Unified API https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Oct 7 · Bonus

Jeff Yan On Hyperliquid’s Plan To Bring All Finance Onchain

What if Hyperliquid’s biggest opportunity is helping the exchanges it’s compared against? This week, Hyperliquid Labs CEO & Co-founder Jeff Yan explains how Hyperliquid is building shared infrastructure for the entire financial system. We discuss options, institutional access, the cost of trading speed, and why transparent markets could deliver better execution. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:31 Building The House Of All Finance 05:07 Is Hyperliquid More Than An Exchange? 07:17 Bringing Institutions Onto Hyperliquid 11:46 Better Trading Through Fees And Options 18:19 Do Transparent Markets Deliver Better Execution? 23:46 Keeping Hyperliquid’s Community Focused 27:05 What Comes Next For Hyperliquid? FOLLOW THE SHOW › Jeff – https://x.com/chameleon_jeff › Shaunda – https://x.com/shaundadevens › DAS –https://x.com/blockworksDAS › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th https://blockworks.com/events › TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto. Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST RESOURCES › Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection: https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era › Start building with the Blockworks Unified API https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Oct 5

Compute Is A Trillion-Dollar Market Trading In Group Chats | Brett Harrison & Andrawes Bahou

How do you price a commodity that still clears in text messages? This week, we're joined by Brett Harrison of Architect and Andrawes Bahou of Compute Desk to discuss why GPU compute needs a futures market for better pricing and hedging. We explore the opaque broker markets quoting GPUs that don't exist, buyers paying up to 2x to get chips sooner, hyperscaler cash flow going negative, and the biggest constraints in the AI market. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:59 Why Does Compute Need Markets? 08:53 Compute Still Trades In Group Chats 13:38 Why Finding GPUs Takes So Long 19:21 How Much Compute Should You Buy? 26:58 Why Are Compute Prices Rising? 33:27 Can Architect Take On CME? 38:13 How Do You Hedge Compute? 43:08 The Risks Behind GPU Lending 52:08 What Really Constrains The AI Market? 01:02:08 What Is Everyone Missing About Compute? FOLLOW GUESTS › Brett – https://x.com/BrettHarrison › Architect – https://architect.co/ › Andrawes – https://x.com/andrawesbahou › Compute Desk – https://www.compute-desk.com/ FOLLOW THE SHOW › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th https://blockworks.com/events › TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto. Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST RESOURCES › Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection: https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes. only. Any views expressedare opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Oct 2

Everyone Is Watching AI While Crypto’s Bull Market Builds | Weekly Roundup

AI is absorbing investor attention while crypto fundamentals keep improving and fueling growing signs of the long-awaiting bull market. This week, we debate the economics behind AI’s boom and whether crypto’s recovery deserves more attention. We also explore data center financing, why Yano is buying Backpack, overlooked fintech growth, and whether AI agents will disrupt financial services. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:58 Silicon Valley’s AI Drama 02:52 What Could Pop AI’s Bubble? 08:49 AI’s Boom Vs The Debt Markets 12:33 Will Compute Demand Keep Growing? 15:53 The Economics Behind AI Compute 21:23 Is Crypto’s Bull Market Back? 30:29 Was SBF Actually A Great Investor? 37:22 Crypto’s Regulatory And Funding Shift 41:42 Is Crypto Growth Different This Time? 48:24 Will AI Agents Disrupt Finance? 54:00 Content Of The Week FOLLOW THE SHOW › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz › Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel › Rob – https://x.com/HadickM › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th https://blockworks.com/events › TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto. Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST RESOURCES › Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection: https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era › Start building with the Blockworks Unified API https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-the-blockworks-unified-api DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to. buy orsell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Sep 25

Markets Sending, Just Buy Consensus, Meta's AI Moment & Who Wins Tokenization? | Weekly Roundup

Do markets even need CLARITY when quality names and regulators are already sending? This week, we dig into pro-innovation regulators and consensus momentum trades outperforming clever rotations. We also explore Muse, inventors rarely winning, tokenization value capture, and $HOOD versus $SOL. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:58 Blockworks’ Origins And Crypto’s Red Flags 05:08 Crypto Ripping Without CLARITY? 09:41 Can Consensus Coins Keep Winning? 13:18 Why Dragonfly Shifted Toward Equity 20:48 Is Meta’s AI Bet Underpriced? 33:26 Why Crypto’s First Movers Lost 36:29 Blockworks’ DAS Asia And Unified API 39:08 Who Captures Tokenization’s Value? 46:42 Content Of The Week FOLLOW THE SHOW › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz › Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel › Rob – https://x.com/HadickM › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset. 2026London November 10-11th https://blockworks.com/events › TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of. thebiggest weeks in crypto. Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and. 10%DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST RESOURCES › Learn more about Blockworks Agentic Detection: https://blockworks.com/insights/introducing-agentic-detection-asset-monitoring-built-for-the-ai-era DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation. to buy or sellsecurities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes. only. Anyviews expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Sep 18

CLARITY Failed, Many Stablecoins Debate, Circle Launches Arc & Meta's AI Edge | Weekly Roundup

CLARITY failed, but SEC and CFTC action could still accelerate onchain markets. This week, we cover what's next for crypto regulation, debate the many-stablecoin thesis, and dig into Circle launching Arc and the S&P’s push into crypto data and security. We also discuss broken venture markets, Meta’s AI advantage, and Polymarket’s executive hiring spree. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 03:50 Corporate Stablecoin Debate 13:03 Why The CLARITY Act Failed 16:58 The SEC Opens Tokenized Markets 22:43 Who Wins Tokenized Markets? 29:06 S&P Moves Deeper Into Crypto 37:40 Can Circle Make Arc Work? 46:14 Can AI Startups Survive Meta? 51:26 Polymarket’s War For Talent 57:15 Content Of The Week FOLLOW THE SHOW › Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod › Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz › Rob – https://x.com/HadickM › Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel › Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh › Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks RESOURCES › Slumber Number – https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-slumber-number-innovation-exemption-statement-091726 EVENTS › Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th https://blockworks.com/events › TOKEN2049 Singapore is back October 7–8, bringing together 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors for one of the biggest weeks in crypto. Get your TOKEN2049 tickets and 10% DISCOUNT here: https://checkout.token2049.com/events/asia?promo=DASPODCAST10&utm_source=Empire&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=daspodcast&utm_id=DASPODCAST DISCLAIMER Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

See All (680)

4.8

out of 5

165 Ratings

1000x

01/22/2025

0010010

I wish 1000x had its own feed. Those guys are genuinely smart and insightful. The other shows on this feed are very broey and kind of just mid-curve.
It gives me hope as an investor

01/08/2025

Rscat

Regularly listening to Avi and whatever the other guys name is, knowing that not only do they remain confident to continue publishing content but also put their money into markets lets me know that there are market participants less sophisticated than I. I especially enjoy how they see their own conjecture as some sort of fundamental thesis. The only thing I enjoy more is how often they are wrong; I guess if you always call for a bottom you’ve got to nail it sometimes but I guess I missed those episodes. Special stuff here.
Accessible, clear fun

02/17/2023

Losangelessunset

As someone serving brands in Web3, Empire is my favorite spot to learn and stay in the know. Yanowitz brings it!
10/10 Listen

02/16/2023

Nick2187

One of the best crypto pods out there! Highly recommend for anyone interested in the space.