Empire

Today we are joined by Rune Christensen to discuss MakerDAO's Endgame. The Endgame is MakerDAO's roadmap to create the world's most widely used stablecoin. We discuss how Maker has evolved since 2015, MKR's underperformance, the 5 phases of the Endgame, what could go wrong and more!- -Timestamps:00:00 MakerDAO's History: From Creation to Today08:51 Codifying Rules to Scale19:36 MKR’s Underperformance vs DAI’s Growth24:36 Quicknode26:25 Phase 1: Rebranding, New Tokens, Farming37:37 Phase 2: SubDAOs, RWA Collateral & Tokenomics55:59 Phase 3: Implementing AI01:01:20 Phase 4 & 5: Voting Rewards and a Special Purpose Blockchain01:05:40 The Bear Case01:10:10 Allocator DAOs and Internalizing Value- -Follow Rune: https://twitter.com/RuneKekFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -This episode is brought to you by Quicknode. QuickNode is an end-to-end blockchain developer platform that makes building Web3 apps easy. Go to QuickNode.com and use code Empire for a free month on their feature-packed Build Plan!- -ResourcesThe Endgame Plan parts 1&2 (May 2022)https://forum.makerdao.com/t/the-endgame-plan-parts-1-2/15456The 5 phases of Endgame (May 2023)https://forum.makerdao.com/t/the-5-phases-of-endgame/20830- - 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.

In today's episode, we discuss how Metaplex, Solana's leading NFT infrastructure provider, surprised the community by announcing usage fees, causing a heated debate on public goods funding and protocol business models. We also explore the intersection of AI and crypto, the dangers of restaking, if crypto has PMF and Ledger's PR nightmare!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:57) Nvidia and AI Take Center Stage(14:20) Metaplex: Public Goods and Protocol Funding(31:26) “Valora Ad”(32:24) Should ETH Embrace Restaking?(38:28) Ledger’s PR Nightmare(49:32) Does Crypto Have PMF?(58:01) Fred Wilson: “When They Want to Shut Down, Double Down”(1:04:41) What We’re Watching and Blockworks’ New Podcast- -Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Garrett: https://twitter.com/GarrettHarper_Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw- -This episode is brought to you by Valora. Valora is a self-custody, mobile-first wallet and the easiest way to send, swap, collect and purchase digital goods on the Celo blockchain.Try out Masa Prosperity Passport in Valora to claim your free 5+ character .celo domain and get additional rewards from Celo ecosystem partners. Download the app and start exploring today at valoraapp.com/empire."- -Resources:EigenLayer episode (Empire)https://spoti.fi/45yUdr6Shared Sequencer episode (Empire)https://spoti.fi/3MSIw7nVitalik's new article on restakinghttps://vitalik.ca/general/2023/05/21/dont_overload.html- -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. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In today's episode of 1000x, we are joined by Don Wilson, the founder of DRW and one of the world's most successful traders. Don explains how to use probability distributions to make decisions, how he founded DRW, why BTC has negative convexity, how AI will change financial markets and more!We'll drop a new 1000x episode on Empire's RSS feed and the 1000x YouTube channel every two weeks. Hit the links below and give us a follow!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:57) How Don First Became a Trader(06:28) Custom Valuation Models and Strategies(10:37) The Transition to Electronic Trading(14:56) Bitcoin’s Appeal: Removing Intermediaries(19:21) Cumberland's Origin Story(21:15) BTC's Negative Convexity(26:35) How Will AI Impact Financial Markets?(30:16) Crypto’s Evolution and Market Structure(35:15) When Will RWAs Move to Crypto Rails?(37:50) Today’s Infrastructure Shortfalls and the Canton Blockchain(42:54) Don’s Decision-Making Process(47:51) Favorite Trades of All Time- -Follow Don: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donwilsonjr/Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelmanFollow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyzFollow 1000x: https://twitter.com/1000xPodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3FuSarXSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -Resources:Golden Treehttps://www.goldentree.com/Cumberlandhttps://cumberland.io/https://twitter.com/CumberlandSaysDRWhttps://drw.com/https://twitter.com/DRWTradingDigital Assethttps://www.digitalasset.com/Canton Networkhttps://www.canton.network/- -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.

Today we are joined by Lyn Alden and Jordi Alexander to discuss the Bitcoin blockspace debate, Bitcoin's long-term security and money vs tech crypto. Lyn and Jordi are two of the most prominent macro and Bitcoin investors. You don't want to miss their hot (and often conflicting) takes on the evolution and future of Bitcoin!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Bitcoin Blockspace Debate(10:59) The Bear Case and Long-Term Security(36:03) Quicknode(37:50) Kwenta(38:45) Money Crypto vs Tech Crypto(51:53) Bitcoin's Attack Vectors(57:56) Incentives for Bitcoin Development(01:09:29) Macro’s Impact on BTC(01:14:45) The Bitcoin Halvening- -Follow Lyn: https://twitter.com/LynAldenContactFollow Jordi: https://twitter.com/gametheorizingFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -This episode is brought to you by Quicknode. QuickNode is an end-to-end blockchain developer platform that makes building Web3 apps easy. Go to QuickNode.com and use code Empire for a free month on their feature-packed Build Plan!- -This episode is brought to you by Kwenta, the premier derivatives trading platform on Optimism that offers deep liquidity, low fees and up to 50x leverage across 24+ assets. Go to Kwenta.io and start trading today!- -ResourcesLyn Alden's websitehttps://www.lynalden.com/Selini Capitalhttps://www.selinicapital.com/- - 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.

Jason’s traveling this week so we’ve dropped today’s Bell Curve episode in its place!In today's episode, we discuss if protocols should distribute revenue to token holders. This debate was sparked by a Lido proposal for a token revenue share mechanism that now has all of Crypto Twitter debating the merits of revenue distribution, buyback and burn vs dividends, protocol treasuries and more. Tokenomics is a theme you can no longer ignore.We also discuss roadblocks at Stacks (a Bitcoin scaling solution), the viability of Bitcoin's blockspace for arbitrary use cases and Tether's new BTC buying program.- -This episode is brought to you by Valora. Valora is the easiest way to send, swap, collect, and grow your crypto on the Celo blockchain. Download the app and start exploring dapps likeJumpTask today at valoraapp.com/empire. Sign up and use the code ‘HelloValora’ to get a 20% bonus after completing your first task in JumpTask! - -ResourcesLido revenue share proposalhttps://research.lido.fi/t/proposal-introducing-ldo-staking/4636Hasu's Lido responsehttps://research.lido.fi/t/proposal-introducing-ldo-staking/4636/25?u=hasuAlex's SNX threadhttps://twitter.com/thiccythot_/status/16592780560353484850xResearch hosted by Dan and Samhttps://spoti.fi/3NlP1hAhttps://apple.co/3SNhUEt- -Follow Dan: https://twitter.com/smyyguyFollow Sam: https://twitter.com/swmartin19Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve 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. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Today we are joined by Alex Blania to discuss Worldcoin and its attempt to solve proof-of-humanity. ChatGPT and AI have hit the world by storm, making it harder to distinguish humanity from machine. In this episode, we discuss how proof of humanity is necessary in an AI-driven world, why Worldcoin uses biometric data and crypto rails, how privacy concerns are mitigated, questions around UBI, and how Worldcoin will be crypto's largest onboarding catalyst over the next 12 months.- -Timestamps:(01:26) The Origin Story(06:39) How AI Impacts Proof-of-Humanity(11:24) Why Biometrics and the Orb(19:37) Data and Privacy Concerns(26:01) Related Government Experiments(30:07) Why Should People Care About Proof-of-Humanity(32:38) Quicknode ad(34:23) Kwenta ad(35:21) The Crypto Tech Stack(40:02) Biggest Challenges, Success Metrics and Revenue Model(46:37) Criticisms and Reactions from Governments(49:37) Universal Basic Income(52:16) Scary Vibes and Removing Trust- -Follow Alex: https://twitter.com/alexblaniaFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -This episode is brought to you by Quicknode. QuickNode is an end-to-end blockchain developer platform that makes building Web3 apps easy. Go to QuickNode.com and use code Empire for a free month on their feature-packed Build Plan!- -This episode is brought to you by Kwenta, the premier derivatives trading platform on Optimism that offers deep liquidity, low fees and up to 50x leverage across 24+ assets. Go to Kwenta.io and start trading today!- -ResourcesWorldcoinhttps://worldcoin.org/https://twitter.com/worldcoinSam Altmanhttps://twitter.com/sama- - 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.

In today's episode, we discuss frameworks for valuing crypto projects. The fellas debate token buybacks vs dividends, fundamentals vs flows, protocol revenue vs supply-side revenue and how these factors impact investor valuation frameworks. We also explore activist crypto investing, jaredfromsubway's MEV strategy and more.Santi's out so it's Jason with the Bell Curve crew today!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:16) Activist Investing: Aragon DAO (13:51) Will TradFi Have a Luna Moment?(20:22) How to Value Tokens(33:23) “Valora Ad”(34:19) Uniswap's Fee Switch & the Changing Liquidity Landscape(45:55) How Jared fromsubway.eth Eats Everyone’s MEV Lunch--Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Blockworks Podcast Producer applicationhttps://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Blockworks/236ee9e8-f4ea-47ac-9eb6-f95a44d6c93bArbitrum proposalhttps://forum.arbitrum.foundation/t/distribution-of-dao-revenue-to-arb-token-holders/14412Uniswap proposalhttps://gov.uniswap.org/t/making-protocol-fees-operational/21198Robert Miller MEV threadhttps://twitter.com/bertcmiller/status/1656392876438462464Relay Scanhttps://www.relayscan.io/- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire or Bell Curve 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. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode, Avi and Jonah discuss Bitcoin's outlook and recent meme coin mania. We start with a discussion on Bitcoin and if bank failures are priced in, what it will take for BTC to break past the 30K range and if institutions are buying. Avi and Jonah then debate if we'll ever see 2021s perfect storm again. Meme coins are pumping, blockspace demand is saturated, and market sentiment is shifting. Is this a market turning point or just a short-term phenomenon? Tune in to find out!We'll drop a new 1000x episode on Empire's RSS feed and the 1000x YouTube channel every two weeks. Hit the links below and give us a follow!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:32) Are Bank Failures Priced In?(07:31) The Impact of a Potential US Default(12:51) Repeating 2021’s Perfect Storm(18:03) Meme Mania: Why You Should Pay Attention(31:30) Deflationary ETH and Blockspace Fee Generation(36:34) BTC Miner Revenue and BRC-20s- -Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelmanFollow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyzFollow 1000x: https://twitter.com/1000xPodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3FuSarXSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -Resources:Golden Treehttps://www.goldentree.com/Cumberlandhttps://cumberland.io/BRC-20.iohttps://brc-20.io/- -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.

Today we are joined by Tron's founder, Justin Sun. Justin describes Tron's role as the leading stablecoin network, USDT's falling market share, Huobi's competition with Binance, his potential acquisition of DCG's assets and more. You will be shocked to hear what dollar amounts Justin has staked in Lido and other DeFi protocols. Tune in to find out!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(00:56) Tron’s Vision(04:25). Huobi: Competing with Binance(07:44) The Threat of USDT’s Falling Market Share(11:14) $56M TUSD Binance Transfer(13:21) Quicknode Ad(15:08) KWENTA Ad(16:04) Yield Farming, Staking and Bribing Liquidity(22:43) Tron’s Team, Acquisitions and DCG(25:40) SEC vs TRX and Regulation- -Follow Justin: https://twitter.com/justinsuntronFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - -This episode is brought to you by Quicknode. QuickNode is an end-to-end blockchain developer platform that makes building Web3 apps easy. Go to QuickNode.com and use code Empire for a free month on their feature-packed Build Plan!- -This episode is brought to you by Kwenta, the premier derivatives trading platform on Optimism that offers deep liquidity, low fees and up to 50x leverage across 24+ assets. Go to Kwenta.io and start trading today!- -ResourcesTronhttps://tron.network/Huobihttps://www.huobi.com/en-us/- - 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.

Today we are joined by Rebecca Rettig and Jake Chervinsky to discuss the state of crypto regulation. Rebecca and Jake explain how the US is falling behind, the EU's MiCA regulation, the SEC's attack on Coinbase, Gary's false sense of control and the hottest crypto bills in DC. Regulation and policy are becoming must-know topics for crypto participants, and this is your go-to source for everything you need to know. This is the first episode in an ongoing regulatory and policy series with Jake and Rebecca!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:40) The State of Crypto Regulation(02:36) Europe's MiCA Legislation(11:10) “Chainalysis Ad”(12:14) Coinbase’s Offshore Expansion(14:11) The UK’s Approach and What’s Next for the EU(19:07) Gary Gensler’s April Testimony(22:45) Coinbase’s Fight with the SEC(30:08) Warren Marshall Bill(35:21) The US Policy Outlook- -Follow Rebecca: https://twitter.com/RebeccaRettig1Follow Jake: https://twitter.com/jchervinskyFollow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroelFollow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2jSubscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprwGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -This episode is brought to you by Chainalysis.Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, web3 companies, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and business intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases. For more information, visit www.Chainalysis.com/empire.- -Resources:Coinbase's response to the SEC’s Wells noticehttps://www.coinbase.com/blog/coinbase-responds-to-the-secs-wells-noticeThe Blockchain Associationhttps://theblockchainassociation.org/https://twitter.com/BlockchainAssnPolygonhttps://polygon.technology/- -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.