Empire

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 Risk Worth It?

08:07 Are AI Assistants Overhyped?

13:40 Is Crypto Undervalued Again?

22:06 Why Pump Trails Hyperliquid

30:14 Ads (TOKEN2049, Avalanche Summit)

34:12 Ethena Fixes Its Tokenomics

42:33 How Does Ethena Keep Growing?

49:30 Can FOMO Onboard Normies?

56:10 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire– https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

› Avalanche Summit NYC lands Sept. 16–17. Save 15% with code BLOCKWORKS15: avalanchesummit.com/registration

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

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 & SALT Symposium

04:16 Can Regulation Revive Crypto?

16:23 The Four-Year Cycle & Is It Time To Nibble?

18:23 Hyperliquid’s Institutional Moment

25:22 Who Loses From Regulatory Clarity?

32:48 Which Projects Go First?

39:10 Token Transparency Hits Bloomberg

42:13 Travis Kalanick & Peak Founder Mode

51:01 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

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 Intro

00:28 Uniswap Having A Moment

03:31 What Is Uniswap Today?

08:51 How Uniswap Runs The Business

15:24 Who Is Uniswap Building For?

22:09 DeFi Becoming Financial Infrastructure

26:08 Why Do AMMs Keep Winning?

38:39 The Next AMM Unlock

52:06 Are Traditional IPOs Broken?

01:01:14 Robinhood Chain & Uniswap Partnerships

01:06:19 Uniswap’s New Tokenomics

01:11:33 The $100 Million UNI Burn

FOLLOW HAYDEN

› X/Twitter – https://x.com/haydenzadams

› Uniswap – https://x.com/Uniswap

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

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

02:17 Has Crypto Found A Bottom?

08:22 Can Regulation Replace Clarity?

14:42 Fomo Vs Pump Fun

22:07 How Founders Survive The Reckoning

26:31 Is Crypto Worth The Venture Bet?

34:39 Is Erebor Worth $8 Billion?

41:40 Is Collector Crypt Just Gambling?

48:03 Everything Is Becoming Financialized

54:23 Why Santi Is Long AI

57:26 What Benchmark Gets Right

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santi – https://x.com/santiagoroel

› Rob – https://x.com/HadickM

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said. onEmpire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

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’s Market And Token Thesis

09:00 Ribbit’s Role In Morpho

11:50 Morpho And Midnight Explained

20:42 Why DeFi Becomes Infrastructure

26:29 First Principles Beat Fast Execution

29:30 Building Crypto’s GTM Machine

37:52 Scaling Morpho Without Losing Direction

42:19 Funding A $200 Trillion Ambition

47:47 Where Morpho Grows Next

57:37 Midnight’s Path Beyond Crypto Credit

01:03:18 Agents And The Regulatory Frontier

FOLLOW PAUL

› X/Twitter – https://x.com/PaulFrambot

› Morpho – https://x.com/Morpho

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Telegram – https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh

› Blockworks – https://x.com/Blockworks

EVENTS

› Join us at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia October 7th & Digital Asset 2026 London November 10-11th

https://blockworks.com/events

DISCLAIMER

Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are opinions, not financial advice. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.