Empire

Empire

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.

Episodes

October 23, 2026 • 66 mins
Is AI about to make the whole internet a target? This week, we unpack the PHP exploit wave and why crypto saw this cybersecurity attack pattern first. We also explore whether the AI labs get nationalized, where AI's irrational exuberance lives, Visa's rumored Fireblocks deal, and why it feels like nothing is investable right now. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 From the B-List to the A-List: Haseeb & Zaki Join 01:21 Is AI B...
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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 ...
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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 F...
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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 Joi...
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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 Buildi...
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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 mark...
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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: 0...
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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?...
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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...
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Which tokens are actually worth owning in today’s market? This week, Yan Liberman shares his six-token portfolio and the framework behind each position. We dig into productive vs speculative assets, catchup trades and overlooked opportunities, how AI is reshaping crypto venture, what Delphi looks for in founders, and what the ideal portfolio looks like today. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:34 Does Crypto’s...
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What happens when memecoin speculation collides with onchain equities? This week, Jason and Santi unpack why Robinhood’s tokenized stocks may be crypto’s hottest new battleground. They explore the $BONER–$HIMS squeeze, murky shareholder rights, FOMO’s bull-market signal, and whether Robinhood, Solana, and stablecoin giants become this cycle’s biggest winners. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 0...
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What happens when AI agents become the internet’s dominant users? This week, Jason sits down with Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince to explore how AI agents could fundamentally reshape the internet’s business model. They discuss 1,000x agent traffic, why everything wrong with the world is Google's fault, AI flattening organizations, micropayments at unprecedented scale, and whether AI becomes the new interface to the ...
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Can Robinhood turns the crypto trenches into a serious business? This week, we unpack Robinhood Chain’s explosive growth and what it could mean for tokenized markets, Ethereum, and traditional finance. We also explore the new meme-stock mechanics, Ethena’s neobank push, Hyperliquid’s U.S. path, and why distribution still captures the most value. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:46 Robinhood Chain&rsquo...
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Tokenized collectibles are one of the hottest markets right now, turning an antiquated resale market into a liquid, gamified form of commerce built around collectors. This week, Beezie and Collector Crypt CEOs, Andrea Miele and Tuomas (Tuom) Holmberg, explain why tokenized collectibles are finding product-market fit and how crypto is reshaping a market long dominated by traditional marketplaces. They discuss instant buybacks,...
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What matters more in today’s market: the numbers or the story investors believe? This week, we debate crypto’s rebound and why markets increasingly reward narrative, momentum, and massive future outcomes over traditional valuation. We also cover Hyperliquid vs Pump, Ethena’s token overhaul, AI valuation mania, and the convergence of trading and social. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:07 Is Crypto Ris...
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Can new regulations finally fix the broken token market? This week, we debate whether the SEC’s new crypto framework meaningfully changes token design, capital formation, and investor protections. We dig into token cash flows, Hyperliquid’s institutional moment, if CLARITY is actually dead, regulatory first movers, and whether founders should ignore their VCs. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:28 Jackson Hole...
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What if Uniswap isn’t really an exchange at all, but a liquidity network for every asset? This week, Uniswap Founder Hayden Adams explains how Uniswap is evolving from a consumer DeFi app into global financial infrastructure. We explore programmable market making, tokenized assets, public market's IPO problem, Robinhood’s breakout traction, and why DeFi could reshape capital markets. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 I...
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Crypto adoption is accelerating, but does that mean token prices follow? This week, we unpack growing institutional interest in crypto as brokerages and fintechs push onchain, even as CLARITY stalls and memecoin activity dominates. We explore SEC and CFTC catalysts, Fomo versus Pump.fun, the durability of meme-driven markets, token value accrual, and crypto’s financialization problem. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro ...
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Is DeFi’s future invisible financial infrastructure? This week, Cofounder & CEO of Morpho, Paul Frambot, joins to explore Morpho’s ambition to bring global credit markets onchain for fintechs and institutions. We discuss Midnight and fixed-rate lending, network effects, token-equity alignment, scaling distribution, and why direction can matter more than speed. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:19 Morpho&...
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What separates lasting winners from everyone chasing the next trend? This week, we dig into why specialization may be the biggest edge in venture investing as crypto, AI, and traditional finance increasingly converge. We discuss venture mandates, stablecoin competition, Circle's earnings, Cloudflare's agent wallets, and why reputation compounds faster than capital. Enjoy! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 04:05 Crypto Venture Expa...
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