Empire

Jason and Santi break down the collision between memecoin speculation and onchain equities, focusing on Robinhood's tokenized stocks. They examine the $BONER–$HIMS squeeze and the murky shareholder rights that tokenized holders may face. The episode also weighs whether FOMO is a bull-market signal, whether most FOMO traders lose money, and whether Robinhood, Solana, and stablecoin issuers become the cycle's biggest winners.

Jason Yanowitz sits down with Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince to discuss how AI agents are becoming the dominant users of the internet. They explore the potential shift from advertising to micropayments as the internet's business model, why AI labs fear Google's dominance, and how AI is flattening organizational structures. Prince explains Cloudflare's role as a neutral infrastructure provider and the implications of 1,000x traffic from agents. The conversation covers whether blockchain can play a role in agent economies, what breaks in an agent-driven internet, and whether AI ultimately becomes the new interface to the web.

The Empire team breaks down Robinhood Chain’s billion-dollar run rate and what it signals for tokenized markets and Ethereum. They explore new meme-stock dynamics, why 24/7 stock trading remains hard to scale, and Ethena’s move into neobanking. The episode also covers Hyperliquid’s path into the U.S., prediction markets, and the recurring theme that distribution—not just technology—captures the most value in crypto.

Andrea Miele (Beezie) and Tuomas Holmberg (Collector Crypt) join Empire to discuss why tokenized collectibles are exploding. They explore how crypto is transforming the antiquated collectibles market by adding liquidity, instant buybacks, and gamified commerce. The conversation covers lower fees, sustainable token economics, and whether this model can expand beyond trading cards.

The hosts debate whether crypto’s recent rebound reflects a shift from traditional valuation to narrative-driven markets. They examine the underperformance of Pump relative to Hyperliquid, Ethena’s tokenomics reset, and the sustainability of AI assistant hype. The conversation also covers whether FOMO can onboard mainstream users and the convergence of trading and social media. A lively discussion on the current state of crypto and the power of market stories.

Hosts Jason Yanowitz, Santiago Roel, and Rob Hadick discuss whether the SEC's new crypto framework can meaningfully change token design, capital formation, and investor protections. The conversation covers the four-year cycle, Hyperliquid's institutional moment, winners and losers from regulatory clarity, and which projects might move first under the new rules. They also touch on token transparency reaching Bloomberg and Travis Kalanick as an example of peak founder mode. The episode closes with a content-of-the-week segment.

Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, argues that Uniswap is evolving from a consumer DeFi app into global financial infrastructure. The conversation covers programmable market making, tokenized assets, public market IPO problems, and Robinhood's crypto traction. Adams discusses why automated market makers continue to win and what the next AMM unlock might be. The episode closes with Uniswap's new tokenomics and a $100 million UNI burn.

The hosts of Empire discuss the state of crypto markets in August 2026, including whether adoption translates to token price appreciation. They examine regulatory stagnation, the dominance of memecoin trading on platforms like FOMO and Pump.fun, and the broader trend of financializing everyday assets. The conversation also covers venture capital's role, valuations of major projects, and the potential of AI to drive crypto's next growth phase.

Paul Frambot, cofounder and CEO of Morpho, joins Empire to discuss Morpho's mission to bring the $200 trillion global credit market onchain. They cover Morpho's token thesis, the launch of Midnight for fixed-rate lending, why DeFi is becoming invisible financial infrastructure, and why first principles thinking and direction matter more than speed. Frambot also shares insights on scaling distribution and the role of Ribbit in Morpho's growth.

The hosts of Empire discuss venture capital mandates, stablecoin competition, Circle's earnings, Cloudflare's new agent wallets, and Western Union's move to blockchain. They argue that specialization and reputation are key edges in an increasingly crowded crypto market.

Santi and Rob dissect the crypto-finance convergence, examining how leverage, automation, and retail speculation are bringing crypto-style volatility to traditional markets. They discuss the fading odds of the CLARITY bill, growing institutional AI fatigue, and Robinhood’s onchain expansion. The pair also explore the collapse of Ethereum L2 activity, the rise of prediction markets, and the tension between public and private tokenization. The conversation covers stablecoin adoption and the shifting landscape of crypto venture capital.

Johann Kerbrat, GM of Crypto at Robinhood, explains how Robinhood Chain will connect decentralized finance, tokenized assets, and mainstream users. He discusses the explosive launch of the chain, the strategy behind keeping DeFi partners independent, and the long-term vision of bringing tokenized equities to a global audience. The conversation also covers Robinhood's competitive position and how financial products may converge on blockchain rails.

Jason Yanowitz and Greg Xethalis from Multicoin discuss the CLARITY Act—proposed legislation that could fundamentally reshape crypto regulation in America. They examine how the bill addresses CFTC oversight, token classification frameworks, DeFi protections, and disclosure requirements, while also exploring the political and technical obstacles threatening its passage.

Empire's hosts debate cryptocurrency's regulatory timeline as the Clarity Act's window for Congressional passage narrows. The episode explores what regulatory clarity means for institutional adoption, examines Robinhood's challenge to Ethereum's value capture model, unpacks Coinbase's Base strategy reset, and discusses recent incidents including the Ostium hack's implications for instant settlement. Additional topics include Stripe's PayPal bid and emerging trends in AI trading.

Paul and Se, co-founders of Fomo, discuss why consumer crypto has struggled to achieve mainstream adoption and how Fomo is reimagining onchain trading through a social-first approach. They explore the intersection of social networks and finance, creator-driven distribution, transparent onchain data as a discovery mechanism, and why they believe social finance represents the next major platform shift in the crypto ecosystem.

Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Roel from Inversion examine the gap between crypto's technological promise and its actual value capture for investors. They discuss why months of crypto adoption research led the firm to reset its thesis, explore how Robinhood's onchain strategy differs from traditional crypto approaches, and investigate whether AI is delivering stronger returns than tokens in real business transformation. The episode reveals a fundamental problem: distribution moats and workflow automation are creating genuine value, but crypto's token structures often don't capture that value effectively.

Empire's weekly roundup covers Circle's announcement of OUSD and strategic implications, Robinhood's product launches including their new blockchain, Venice's $65M funding round, and ongoing crypto debates around tokens versus equity structures. The hosts discuss infrastructure monetization, stablecoin proliferation, and emerging opportunities in the machine economy.

Vishal Garg, founder and CEO of Better.com, joins Empire to discuss how crypto and AI are reshaping the mortgage market. He details why the current mortgage process is ripe for disruption, Better's technology-driven business model, and the launch of crypto-backed mortgages that allow borrowers to keep their crypto holdings. The conversation also covers tokenization of home equity, partnerships with Coinbase and OpenAI, and the challenges of running a public company.

In this weekly roundup, Jason, Santi, and Rob discuss the current crypto market downturn, with worries around Strategy weighing on prices. They analyze the state of crypto venture capital, the escalating competition among prediction markets, and Kraken's reported pursuit of a 15% stake in DeFi protocol Aave. The hosts also cover Fomo's $75 million raise at a $550 million valuation. The episode offers a snapshot of the key themes driving the crypto industry in late June 2026.

Ben Jones and Karl Floersch from Optimism discuss the state of Layer 2 scaling solutions for Ethereum in 2026. The conversation covers what early L2s got wrong, Optimism's evolved strategy, the competitive dynamics of chain launches, and whether companies actually need their own blockchains. A candid assessment of the scaling narrative and its reality.

Empire's weekly roundup covers three major crypto and AI topics: the US government's export controls on Anthropic's Fable model and implications for AI regulation, the open vs. closed-source AI debate, and practical portfolio structuring for 2026. The hosts discuss MicroStrategy's leverage exposure, Coinbase's new product announcement, and broader themes in AI governance and cryptocurrency markets.

Ryan Watkins joins Empire to discuss the crypto landscape in 2026, focusing on fund management, market cycles, and emerging opportunities. The episode explores whether four-year cycles still drive crypto markets, analyzes the Hyperliquid thesis in detail, and examines token unlock dynamics and Layer 1 narratives.

Blockworks announces its acquisition of Messari, combining two major crypto data and research platforms. Michael Ippolito and Jason Yanowitz discuss how Messari's data APIs and research capabilities complement Blockworks' on-chain analytics and disclosure products. The conversation centers on crypto's trust and transparency challenges, the need for standardized data frameworks, and how the merged entity positions itself as the infrastructure layer connecting issuers, investors, exchanges, regulators, and AI agents in on-chain markets.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig joins hosts Rob, Santiago, and Jason to discuss the CFTC's recent policy announcement on perpetual swaps in the U.S., the regulatory coordination with the SEC, how to regulate decentralized finance, the push to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world, prediction markets, 24/7 capital markets, and the Clarity Act.

Empire hosts a weekly roundup on SpaceX's anticipated $1.75T IPO with early investor Ryan Zurrer, exploring valuation frameworks and market timing. The show also examines why the current crypto bear market feels worse than previous cycles, identifies DeFi opportunities for 2026, and discusses Strategy's Bitcoin sale and the potential path to $40k BTC.

Avichal Garg of Electric Capital joins Empire to discuss his 2026 crypto investment strategy, the intersection of crypto and AI, and the future of Ethereum. He explains why he remains bullish on Solana and Ethereum, explores why tokens often trade at a discount, and offers advice for building breakout apps. The conversation also covers the crypto exchange landscape and making DeFi safer.

Empire hosts discuss crypto market bearishness, stablecoins as payment infrastructure, Robinhood's new AI agent announcement, insights from a D.C. trip on regulatory sentiment, and premium valuations in MicroStrategy and RoboStrategy. The episode balances macro skepticism with emerging opportunities in AI-driven trading and blockchain infrastructure.

Empire's weekly roundup explores why Hyperliquid is experiencing a breakout moment by capitalizing on the trillion-dollar IPO wave. The hosts dive into whether a new bull market is emerging, assess Ethereum's valuation concerns, discuss SpaceX's potential IPO, and cover other market dynamics.

Mike Cagney, co-founder of Figure, discusses how the company became the leading non-bank HELOC lender in the U.S. and achieved a $10B valuation. The conversation covers Figure's use of blockchain rails to scale capital markets infrastructure, the strategic decision to build Figure, tokenization of equities, the Provenance blockchain, and Cagney's vision for the future of crypto and financial infrastructure.

Empire hosts discuss the parallels between current AI enthusiasm and crypto's 2017 bubble, examining whether we're in a speculative cycle. The episode covers Circle's $222M fundraise, regulatory expectations around the Clarity Act, and Anthropic's new restrictions on secondary venture investor vehicles (SPVs), alongside a content roundup of the week's most relevant happenings.

Stani Kulechov and Mike Silagadze join Empire to dissect the $290M KelpDAO exploit and its near-catastrophic impact on DeFi. They discuss the systemic risks exposed by the attack, the launch of the DeFi United industry recovery fund, and strategies to prevent similar exploits. The conversation also covers the future of Aave and EtherFi in the wake of the crisis and a frank assessment of why DeFi tokens currently look uninvestable.

In this weekly roundup, hosts Jason Yanowitz, Santiago Roel, and Rob Hadick discuss the latest macro and crypto market developments. They break down how strong Big Tech earnings are propelling equities to new highs, analyze Robinhood's quarterly numbers and its growing crypto business, and examine the concentration of stablecoin activity across different blockchains. The episode also covers the DeFi United recovery fund, an industry-coordinated insurance pool for protocol hacks, and Pump.fun's token burn announcement, a deflationary move for the popular meme coin launchpad.

Alex Pruden and Philip Martin explore Bitcoin's vulnerability to quantum computing attacks. The discussion covers the timeline and severity of quantum threats to cryptographic security, potential Bitcoin forks to address the vulnerability, how DeFi protocols can mitigate quantum risks, and practical privacy protection strategies in a post-quantum world.

Hosts Jason Yanowitz, Santiago Roel, and Rob Hadick discuss the $290 million exploit of DeFi protocol KelpDAO and how to address recurring DeFi hacks. They also examine the rivalry between prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, debate the chances of the Clarity Act passing, and explain the new stablecoin USDai. The episode covers the current inflection point in crypto, though no financial advice is given.

Jason Yanowitz and Mike Ippolito (Blockworks founders) discuss the company's rebrand and evolution. The conversation covers crypto's persistent trust problem, how onchain capital markets could solve it, the role of disclosure frameworks in legitimizing the industry, and Blockworks' shift from media to infrastructure as institutional adoption accelerates.

Logan Jastremski shares his crypto thesis for 2026, arguing that Layer 1 blockchains like Ethereum are overvalued while Solana and Hyperliquid compete fiercely for onchain trading volume. The conversation covers which blockchain wins the trading wars, why Hyperliquid succeeded, and Logan's highest-conviction bets for the year ahead, including analysis of Bitcoin, Tesla, and whether Twitter can scale into a finance platform.

Hosts Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Roel review the S&P 500 reaching new all-time highs and the current state of financial markets. They explore the Hyperliquid thesis, discuss Tether's $150 million recovery plan for Drift, and analyze the SEC's new DeFi guidance. Other segments cover Microstrategy's $STRC, Kraken's $200 million raise from Deutsche Börse, and reasons behind the underperformance of Layer 2 networks.

Dalrymple and Anand trace the arc of the Russian Empire from Peter the Great's reforms through Catherine's expansion to the revolution. Covers how imperial overreach, serfdom, and modernization failures led to collapse.

Dalrymple and Anand explore how the Ottoman Empire grew from a small Anatolian principality to a superpower spanning three continents, emphasizing the administrative innovations and military strategies that enabled expansion.

How WWI destroyed the Romanov dynasty and created the Soviet Union. Dalrymple examines the Russian Revolution as simultaneously the end of one empire and the beginning of another.

The Russian Empire under Peter the Great. Dalrymple examines how Peter forcibly modernized Russia — building a new capital, a new navy, and a new elite — through sheer will and horrifying brutality.

The long decline of the Ottoman Empire from the 17th through the early 20th century. Dalrymple examines how a once-dominant empire failed to adapt to industrialization, nationalism, and the changing balance of European power.

The Ottoman golden age under Suleiman the Magnificent. Dalrymple examines the longest and most successful reign in Ottoman history — 46 years of military conquest, legal reform, and cultural achievement that made the Ottomans the world's premier power.

How Napoleon's ambitions in Egypt were partly aimed at threatening British India. Dalrymple connects European and Asian imperial history, showing how the Napoleonic Wars reshaped the global colonial order.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, when General Dyer ordered troops to fire on a peaceful crowd in Amritsar, killing at least 379 people. Anand examines how this event transformed the independence movement and destroyed the moral legitimacy of British rule.

How Indian textile manufacturing was the world's dominant industry for centuries — and how the British deliberately destroyed it to protect Lancashire mills. Dalrymple follows the cotton thread from Mughal looms to the Industrial Revolution.

Bahadur Shah Zafar II — the last Mughal emperor, a poet and calligrapher who became the reluctant figurehead of the 1857 rebellion. Dalrymple tells the story of the siege of Delhi and the destruction of Mughal civilization.

The Mughal Empire at its zenith under Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. Dalrymple presents the Mughals as one of history's greatest civilizations — wealthier than contemporary Europe, architecturally magnificent, and culturally sophisticated.

The partition of India in 1947 — the largest mass migration in history and one of the 20th century's great catastrophes. Anand brings personal family history to the story of 15 million displaced people and up to 2 million dead.

Mahatma Gandhi's transformation of Indian independence from elite petition to mass movement. Dalrymple and Anand, joined by historian Ram Guha, examine how Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance undermined the moral foundations of British rule.

After 1857, the British Crown took direct control of India from the East India Company. Dalrymple examines how the Raj created a racial hierarchy, built infrastructure for extraction, and imposed a system that Indians experienced as both modernizing and humiliating.

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 — called the Mutiny by the British and the First War of Independence by Indians. Dalrymple examines how a cartridge controversy ignited a widespread revolt against Company rule, leading to the end of both the Mughal Empire and the East India Company.

Robert Clive's victory at Plassey in 1757 — the battle that gave the East India Company control of Bengal, the richest province in India. Dalrymple reveals it was less a battle than a corporate transaction: Clive bribed most of the opposing army.

How a small Tudor trading company became the most powerful corporation in history. Dalrymple and Anand trace the East India Company from its founding in 1600 to its transformation from merchant enterprise to military conqueror.