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Empire

Empire

Blockworks 646 Episodes Oct 12, 2026

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

Kamino's Plan To Make Tokenized Assets Actually Useful | Michael Weisz
Kamino's Plan To Make Tokenized Assets Actually Useful | Michael Weisz Oct 12, 2026 3388 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
Jeff Yan On Hyperliquid’s Plan To Bring All Finance Onchain
Jeff Yan On Hyperliquid’s Plan To Bring All Finance Onchain Oct 7, 2026 1835 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
Compute Is A Trillion-Dollar Market Trading In Group Chats | Brett Harrison & Andrawes Bahou
Compute Is A Trillion-Dollar Market Trading In Group Chats | Brett Harrison & Andrawes Bahou Oct 5, 2026 3937 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
Everyone Is Watching AI While Crypto’s Bull Market Builds | Weekly Roundup
Everyone Is Watching AI While Crypto’s Bull Market Builds | Weekly Roundup Oct 2, 2026 3599 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. E
Markets Sending, Just Buy Consensus, Meta's AI Moment & Who Wins Tokenization? | Weekly Roundup
Markets Sending, Just Buy Consensus, Meta's AI Moment & Who Wins Tokenization? | Weekly Roundup Sep 25, 2026 3063 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 R
CLARITY Failed, Many Stablecoins Debate, Circle Launches Arc & Meta's AI Edge | Weekly Roundup
CLARITY Failed, Many Stablecoins Debate, Circle Launches Arc & Meta's AI Edge | Weekly Roundup Sep 18, 2026 3807 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
The Six Tokens To Own This Cycle | Yan Liberman
The Six Tokens To Own This Cycle | Yan Liberman Sep 14, 2026 3568 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 Int
Memecoins Are Stress-Testing The Future Of Tokenized Stocks | Weekly Roundup
Memecoins Are Stress-Testing The Future Of Tokenized Stocks | Weekly Roundup Sep 11, 2026 2637 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 Int
Cloudflare CEO: The Man Deciding The Internet’s Next Business Model
Cloudflare CEO: The Man Deciding The Internet’s Next Business Model Sep 9, 2026 4286 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 th
Robinhood Is Proving Distribution Captures Crypto’s Value | Weekly Roundup
Robinhood Is Proving Distribution Captures Crypto’s Value | Weekly Roundup Sep 4, 2026 4184 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 Robi
Beezie & Collector Crypt CEOs on Why Onchain Collectibles Are Exploding
Beezie & Collector Crypt CEOs on Why Onchain Collectibles Are Exploding Aug 31, 2026 3616 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
Story vs Valuation, Hyperliquid TAM, Pump’s Problem & Ethena’s Token Reset
Story vs Valuation, Hyperliquid TAM, Pump’s Problem & Ethena’s Token Reset Aug 28, 2026 3820 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

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