Empire

On today’s episode of Empire Blockwork’s co-founder Jason Yanowitz and his co-host Santiago Roel Santos are joined by Ben Forman, managing partner at ParaFi Capital. Ben launched ParaFi in 2018 after seeing the potential of DeFi. Now with around $1 billion AUM, he provides his thoughts on how the DeFi ecosystem has evolved. Ben also shares his insights into how the recent Jan. 21 2022, market sell-off compares to March 2020, the explosive growth of stablecoins, the layer-1 wars, opportunities in NFTs, gaming and the biggest crypto trends for 2022. This episode was recorded on January 21, 2022. ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

On today's episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santiago gear up for a jam-packed narrative week as they explore the hottest in crypto news. Echoes and reminders of last week's discussion crop up as they review changing opinions on tokenization, DeFi, and the Curve Wars. They look at the biggest in acquisitions, from new funds stepping into the cryptospace with billion dollar backing to Microsoft's metaverse news- and what all of these things could mean for the future of crypto. From liquidity to portfolio management, they cover it all on this week's roundup! -- Shownotes https://medium.com/dragonfly-research/blockchains-are-cities-564327013f86 https://medium.com/momentum6/lockdrop-lba-the-future-of-tokenomics-479ccb2afeed https://0xrusowsky.substack.com/p/an-attempt-to-analyze-all-the-drama?r=rx2fd&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web https://blockworks.co/everything-you-need-to-know-about-illuvium/ -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

On today's episode of Empire, Jason Yanowitz and Santos Santiago are joined by Joey Krug, CIO of Pantera. Before Pantera, Joey also organized the first ICO on Ethereum, raising a total $5.7 million for Augur, a peer-to-peer betting platform- among other things. With his multiple positions and involvements in the crypto scene, Joey provides a unique viewpoint to not only past and current trends, but a loud and vocal perspective on DeFi and the Layer wars. Join Jason and Santiago as they learn more about how Joey navigated his huge portfolio of experience in crypto leading up to Pantera and why he thinks DeFi is incredibly undervalued today. -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santiago bring their A-game and best sweaters for this conversation about the latest in crypto this week. After covering the launch of AllianceDAO yesterday and the Curve Wars last week, Ver(3,3) and Yearn Finance provide a stimulating and exciting revisit as they discuss what it means for the environment. Jason and Santiago track the markets, comment on fundraisers, and more. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

On this episode of Empire, Jason Yanowitz and Mike Ippolito are joined by Qiao Wang and Imran Khan of AllianceDAO. Not only are Qiao and Imran announcing big news about launching AllianceDAO & raising $50 Million, but they're also diving into all their thoughts on what DeFi Summer set up for the current state of crypto, the metaverse & gaming projects they're interested in. You won't want to miss this! -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Welcome to the first Weekly Roundup of the 2022! With new stories happening all the time, join Jason and Santiago as they look at the latest in market news, wrestle with the internet, and explain the hottest in crytpo news. This week they take a deep dive into explaining Curve and the curve wars, discuss the complicated back-and-forth of what is decentralized and permissionless- this time relating to an art theft!- and analyse Electric Capital's dropped report. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- Required Reading! https://theknower.substack.com/p/the-curve-wars-rage-on https://moneywithcarter.substack.com/p/q1-2022-thesis -- Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

On this episode of Empire, Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Santos sit down with Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain of Multicoin Capital. As one of the top performing crypto funds of all time, Kyle and Tushar have insight not only discuss their former and current contrarian opinions on the space but discuss what they've learned, how they're thinking, and what they're seeing when it comes to the crypto industry in 2022. -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

In this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Jason and Santiago bring enthusiasm and cheer to end a spectacular year and make some predictions about the new one! Sending off 2021 with a review of their past speculation, Jason and Santiago take turns explaining their own personal predictions and discussing their agreements, disagreements, or confusion thereafter! Want to hear what crypto predictions they have concerning DAOs, DEXs, NFTs and more? Then tune in and bring in the new year with Empire's hosts! Electric Capital Developer Report: https://medium.com/electric-capital/electric-capital-developer-report-2020-9417165c6444 -- Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

In this episode of Empire Jason & Santiago are joined by Antonio Juliano. Antonio is the founder of dYdX one of the largest decentralized exchanges in the world. After leaving Coinbase to start dYdX in 2017, dYdX now settles over $2 Billion of trade volume per day and is backed by some of the largest funds in the crypto industry such as a16z, Polychain & Bain Capital. We invited Antonio on Empire to discuss how dYdX plans to become the largest crypto exchange in the world, futures trading products, order books vs AMMs, the layer-1 wars, Antonio's outlook for DeFi growth and much more. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show! Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9 Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M

Welcome back to another episode of Empire’s Weekly Roundup. The Weekly Roundup airs every Friday morning with Jason Yanowitz and co-host, Santiago Roel Santos. In today's weekly roundup Jason & Santiago discuss the latest in crypto narratives and news, starting with Jack Dorsey's latest polarizing tweets on Web 3.0, Permissioned DeFi, crypto social media, DAOs winning deals against VCs for investments, and more! -- Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santiago are joined by Andrew Steinwold Managing Partner at Sfermion & John Crain CEO of SuperRare Labs. Andrew & John saw the potential of NFTs years before most in 2018, just after Crypto Kitties broke the Ethereum blockchain. We decided to invite them to Empire to discuss the explosive growth in NFTs throughout 2020/21, how the industry has developed since their introduction around 2018 and what is the future for the NFT market. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Welcome back to another episode of Empire’s Weekly Roundup. The Weekly Roundup airs every Friday morning with Jason Yanowitz and co-host, Santiago Roel Santos. In today's weekly roundup Jason & Santiago discuss the Bitwise Blue-Chip NFT Index Fund, Shopify & Nike entering crypto, NYDIG raising $1 Billion, Elizabeth Warren's negative comments on DeFi, PleasrDAO buying an NFT of Wikipedia's First Edit for $750K, Preston Pysh's M2 supply growth thread and so much more! Wikipedia NFT: https://www.christies.com/features/First-Wikipedia-edit-to-be-sold-as-NFT-11983-1.aspx?sc_lang=en&lid=1 Preston Pysh thread: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel/status/1471066014494429184?s=20 -- Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire Jason & Santiago are joined by legendary VC investor Bill Tai. Bill has successfully funded 20 startups that wen't on to IPO. Zoom, Canva, Dapper Labs, Twitter & Wish.com are just a handful of companies Bill was among the first investors in. Due to Bill's ability to spot key technology trends at major inflection points, we invited him on the show to discuss the exponential growth of technology, crypto vs the early days of the internet, creating new digital economies, online communities, DAOs & so much more! -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

On this episode of Empire's Weekly Roundup, Santiago and Jason discuss the latest in crypto news and drama. Looking at the price action and cycles of your favourite currencies to discussing the recent news involving Sushiswap and more, listen to them exchange their thoughts on DAOs, Bitcoin's current status, and the rise of ETH builds. -- Empire's Weekly Roundup is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

In this episode on Empire, Jason is joined by returning guest Jeremy Allaire. Jeremy is the CEO & Co-Founder of Circle the financial technology firm that enables access to the Stablecoin USDC. As USDC recently surpassed $40 Billion in circulation, we invited Jeremy back to discuss how USDC was created, how Stablecoins are a $120 trillion market, how crypto compares to the growth of the internet, DAOs & Jeremy's outlook for crypto. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

Welcome to Empire’s first Weekly Roundup. The Weekly Roundup will air every Friday morning. We’re excited to share that Santiago Roel Santos has joined the show as a co-host for both the interviews and the weekly roundups. In today’s roundup, we cover: L1 wars, PleasrDAO bidding on Ross Ulricht’s NFT, ETH/BTC hitting cycle highs, Decentralization maxis, Permissioned DeFi, and Nuclear energy. Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks’ free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Also, follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire Jason is joined by Blockworks Co-Founder Mike Ippolito for a very special episode. Six months after identifying the '7 biggest crypto trends', Mike returns to Empire to share his predictions for the crypto industry throughout 2022. Will Bitcoin surprise everyone with a major bull run in the new year? How large will DAOs become? Could a crypto company buy a bank?! Listen to find out. Today's 7 biggest crypto trends: https://youtu.be/JjrQiNKN5U0 -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Jack Butcher a designer, entrepreneur and the Founder of Visualize Value. After spending 10 years working in Fortune 100 advertising in NYC as a creative director for multi-billion dollar brands, Jack took the decision to start Visualize Value, allowing him to focus on highly-specialized consulting, and a product business that scales infinitely. Jason & Jack discuss how to monetize personal brands, the transition from web 2.0 to web 3.0, the advantages of NFTs and how large brands should be thinking about NFTs. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Nevin Freeman, Co-Founder & CEO of Reserve. Nevin set out to create Reserve as a way to protect individuals from currency destroying hyperinflation, providing access to a stable currency and financial services. Jason & Nevin discuss how having access to a stable currency is a human right, challenges of creating a stablecoin, hyperinflation, developments in the cryptocurrency industry & much more. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/

In this episode of Empire, Jason & Casey are joined by Senior Bloomberg ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas & CEO of Valkyrie Funds Leah Wald. With the recent approval of the Valkyrie Bitcoin futures ETF, we invited Eric & Leah onto the show to discuss everything you need to know from how an ETF works, the benefits of an ETF for institutional investors, the SEC's Bitcoin ETF regulation framework & if the SEC will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Aave founder/CEO Stani Kulechov & technology investor Santiago R Santos. Sitting at the forefront of the fast evolving DeFi ecosystem, we invited Stani & Santiago on to Empire to share their thoughts on the exponential growth and assess whether DeFi has hit escape velocity. This conversation was fascinating and covered a range of topics including how DeFi managed to attract $100 Billion of total value during the 2020 DeFi summer, when $1 trillion of value will be locked in DeFi, how social media could be decentralised in the web 3.0 transition, NFT's, Stani & Santiago's outlook for the end of year bull market & so much more. - Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/

In this episode of Empire Jason & Mike are joined by Cooper Turley an operator, advisor & thought leader in the fast evolving DAO ecosystem. Cooper has worked on projects such as Friends with Benefits, Forefront, Seed Club & many more. In this episode, Cooper shares his thoughts on the transition from web 2.0 to web 3.0, four steps to creating a DAO, the creator economy, how to invest in the ecosystem & the outlook for the rest of 2021. -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. Find out more about them at https://www.paraswap.io/ --- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Blockworks co-founder Mike Ippolito & Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko. Anatoly has spent over 20 years as an engineer working for companies such as Qualcomm & Dropbox whilst contributing to open source software development. After the recent success of Solana, we invited Anatoly onto Empire to discuss how Solana was founded, the current layer 1 wars, the growth of crypto vs the internet, DeFi, DEXs vs CEXs and so much more! -- Avalanche: Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. --- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire Jason is joined by Alyse Killeen, Managing Partner of StillMark - the Bitcoin VC Firm investing in the frontier of Bitcoin innovation. As well as founding StillMark in 2019, Alyse sits on the board of directors at Blockstream as an Independent Director. Alyse shares her thoughts on the most exciting companies being founded in the industry, the future of earning Bitcoin vs investing in Bitcoin, Bitcoin adoption outpacing the internet & bringing Bitcoin to the next Billion! -- Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Qiao Wang, contributor to DeFi Alliance. As a former quant trader & now busy funding projects in the DeFi & Web 3.0 ecosystem, Qiao has a unique understanding of crypto's past and what new innovations lay in store for the crypto economy at large. While looking at the timeline of DeFi, they touch on the Layer 1 wars, DAOs, the 10 year supercycle and more. -- Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry. Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/ --- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Marty Bent of Great American Mining and Harry Sudock of GRIID. Marty & Harry are focused on using stranded or otherwise wasted energy to mine Bitcoin whilst reducing flaring, methane and carbon emissions whilst doing so. Marty & Harry discuss the multi billion dollar opportunity in Bitcoin mining, the energy arbitrage opportunity, how the energy grid actually operates, the energy consumption debate and the Lightning Network. -- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

In this episode of Empire Jason is joined by Sergey Nazarov. Sergey is the Co-founder of Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network provider for advanced smart contracts. Sergey and Jason discuss hybrid smart contracts, oracle networks, DeFi's total addressable market, how current business models will be forced to adapt and the challenges of developing Chainlink. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire Jason is joined by Mike Jones. Mike is the CEO of Science, a studio that focuses on mobile, marketplaces and select e-commerce investments. Mike is highly regarded in the venture capital industry having been CEO of Myspace, investor in Dollar Shave Club successfully overseeing $2 billion in exits. Mike shares his thoughts on the negative effects of social media, entertainment vs utility, how a VC approaches investing in crypto, how Science studio has evolved and the current popularity of SPACs.

In this episode Jason sits down with Avik Roy. Avik is President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, policy editor at Forbes, former analyst and portfolio manager at the investment firms Bain Capital, JPMorgan Chase & founder of the healthcare-focused hedge fund Mymensingh Partners. Avik shares his thoughts on CBDC's vs stable coins, the private sector's role within the economy, the incoming entitlement crisis and his current Bitcoin thesis. Avik's expertise covers a variety of topics, so we couldn't be more pleased to bring you this episode of Empire. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

In this episode of Empire Jason is joined by Matt Hougan the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management. Jason and Matt discuss how an ETF would benefit financial advisors, DeFi innovation, future outlook for the space and incoming regulation. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Get unparalleled access to the greatest minds in macro at Blockworks’ three day, executive summit in Bretton Woods. August 11 - 13. Apply to attend today! https://blockworks.co/events/brettonwoods/ ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Cynthia Lummis is a US Senator from Wyoming. On this episode of Empire, Senator Lummis speaks with Jason about the proposed Infrastructure Bill and the negative effects this could have for Bitcoin, digital assets and innovation. Cynthia also discusses the negative effects of inflation on the American population and the ever increasing national debt. This is a shorter episode than usual as Senator Lummis had less than 30 minutes to record between votes. ––– Get unparalleled access to the greatest minds in macro at Blockworks’ three day, executive summit in Bretton Woods. August 11 - 13. Apply to attend today! https://blockworks.co/events/brettonwoods/ ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

In this episode Jason is joined by Robert Breedlove. Robert is one of the most esteemed Bitcoin philosophers with a focus on exploring Freedom, Sovereignty, Philosophy, History, Economics and Bitcoin from first principles. When Robert isn't writing his captivating essays, he hosts the YouTube series 'What is Money?' featuring some of the top names in Technology, Finance & Bitcoin including previous guests Michael Saylor, Jeff Booth & Robert Kiyosaki. We couldn't be more excited to welcome Robert Breedlove to Empire who explores Inflation vs Deflation, the effects of central banking on society, what the world would look like on a Bitcoin Standard and Robert's Bitcoin outlook for the rest of 2021. With such a deep understanding over a variety of topics, this episode is not to be missed! ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Get unparalleled access to the greatest minds in macro at Blockworks’ three day, executive summit in Bretton Woods. August 11 - 13. Apply to attend today! https://blockworks.co/events/brettonwoods/ ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Since buying his first bitcoin in 2011, Erik Voorhees has seen it all. Erik helped Charlie Shrem build BitInstant and then launched ShapeShift in 2014, just months after the Mt. Gox crash. In 2018, ShapeShift lost 95% of their business when they introduced KYC due to regulatory demands. In this episode, Erik shares how he got through this tough time, and why he recently took a bold leap to integrate DeFi into ShapeShift and turn the company into a DAO. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Christian Angermayer is one of the world’s leading investors in psychedelics. Christian invested in the seed round Compass Pathways and recently founded Atai, a multi-billion dollar publicly traded psychedelics company. Christian talks about his beginnings, and how they led him to his current project: Atai Medical. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– Get unparalleled access to the greatest minds in macro at Blockworks’ three day, executive summit in Bretton Woods. August 11 - 13. Apply to attend today! https://blockworks.co/brettonwoods/empire --- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Chris Burniske is a co-founder of Placeholder, a New York venture firm that specializes in cryptoassets, and co-author of the book, Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond. He joins us to talk about crypto's past, and the implications that has for its future. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– Get unparalleled access to the greatest minds in macro at Blockworks’ three day, executive summit in Bretton Woods. August 11 - 13. Apply to attend today! https://blockworks.co/brettonwoods/empire --- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Anil is the Chief Operating Officer at Delphi Digital, and joins us to talk about DeFi, crypto gaming, and how he got so bullish on NFTs. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Get unparalleled access to the greatest minds in macro at Blockworks’ three day, executive summit in Bretton Woods. August 11 - 13. Apply to attend today! https://blockworks.co/brettonwoods/empire --- Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Dan Held is currently the director of growth marketing at Kraken. This is the long awaited part 2 of a 2 part series with Dan. If you haven't already, be sure to check out part 1! Dan's blog: https://danheld.substack.com/ ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Peter Smith has been in the crypto space for a long time — and he's learned a thing or two about how the market ebbs and flows. He's come to the conclusion that Bitcoin's success — as well as the success of his own company — doesn't depend on other project's failures. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

On this special episode of Empire, Blockworks co-founder Michael Ippolito tells us about today's biggest trends in crypto. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Empire is on pause this week. For now, enjoy Crypto Data 101 with Will Clemente. See you next week for part 2 with Dan! In this special episode, Will and I talk about why retail is buying when whales are selling, and how the 2021 bull run looks like 2013. Will built a steady following on Twitter this year with his market predictions and analytics, and predicts an eventual $300k Bitcoin. ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks. For the next 24 hours, you can get tickets to DAS before the price increases on Friday. Act soon! https://blockworks.co/events/ For more podcasts like this one, check out http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Dan Held is currently the director of growth marketing at Kraken. We talked about Elon's impact on the field, energy and the environment, and of course, the possible $500k Supercycle. This is part 1 of a 2 part series with Dan. Check out his Substack if you can't wait for part 2! https://danheld.substack.com/ ––– LUKKA Lukka Prime is crypto asset pricing data aligned to accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS. Lukka Prime Pricing Data is the pricing source used by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ for their new cryptocurrency indices. Lukka Prime is the world’s first fair market value pricing source for crypto assets and the best option for all post-trade reporting needs. Visit lukka.tech/empire to learn more. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Jeremy Allaire takes us deep into the world of $USDC, stablecoins, and the future of money. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to http://tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Colleen Sullivan is a founder at CMT — but before that, she spent her summers fighting for space in the pit in Chicago. We talked about how those experiences informed her career, and what her legal experience has taught her about the landscape today. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to http://tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Nelly Chatue-Diop left her home in Cameroon to dive in to the tech world. Now she's bringing what she learned back to Africa with Ejara, which she hopes will soon let people on the continent invest in crypto. We talked about everything from Ejara's founding story, to what it could look like to tokenize a herd of cattle. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to http://tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Michael Moro remembers when Bitcoin felt like it could go to $0. We talked about the transition from that to corporations buying $8 billion in BTC in a quarter, the time he was forced to spend a bitcoin on a case of wine, and the rise of Genesis. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to http://tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

After being Swatted, Jameson Lopp decided to burn down every trace of his identity. Even his own family members don't know where he lives. Now, he's using what he learned to build Casa — a secure storage for crypto that he hopes will ease users' transition into financial sovereignty. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to http://tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Before Bill Barhydt started Abra, he build security systems for the CIA and NASA. We talked about his time working for the government, as well as his role getting banks online through Netscape, and what is looks like to come out of a debt cycle. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to http://tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at http://exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Bobby Ong co-founded the fastest-growing crypto data aggregator, CoinGecko. We talked about how to build a crypto company so that it can last through a bear market — and why honesty is central to his business model. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX made headlines when they acquired the naming rights to Miami's basketball stadium. We talk about how he got there, including everything from his childhood to his experience juggling arbitrage in Japan. ––– LUKKA Minimize your crypto taxes and maximize your refund with Lukka Essentials. Dozens of exchange APIs and hundreds of mapped file formats makes it easy to upload your transaction history. With no limits on exchanges or transaction count, file your 2020 taxes for just $19.95 whether you have 10 transactions or 1 million. Go to tax.lukka.tech/empire to sign up and generate 2020 tax forms today. ––– EXODUS Download the app today at exodus.com/empire and iOS users can buy up to $500 in Bitcoin for just $1 for a limited time. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!

My guest today is Mike Belshe, Founder and CEO of BitGo. But before that, he used what he learned at Netscape to help Google develop Chrome. Like many of us, Belshe stored his first Bitcoin on an old laptop. But after his investor friends started sending their digital assets his way, that "old laptop" was suddenly worth millions. Here's how his quest to secure those assets eventually became BitGo. ––– Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!