Empire

Crypto's window for regulatory clarity is about to close while Robinhood raises questions about who actually captures the value created onchain.

This week, we unpack Clarity’s narrowing path through Congress and what failure could mean for crypto markets and institutional adoption.

We also debate Ethereum’s economics, Coinbase’s Base reset, the Ostium hack vs instant settlement, and Stripe’s reported PayPal bid. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

01:50 Clarity Act’s Closing Window

08:40 Trump’s Crypto Ethics Roadblock

14:07 What Clarity Means For Markets

18:13 Robinhood Exposes Ethereum’s Value Problem

28:14 Coinbase Resets Base’s Strategy

39:28 Ostium Hack Challenges Instant Settlement

50:50 Stripe’s Bid To Reinvent PayPal

01:04:57 AI Trades And Biohacking

01:10:20 Content Of The Week

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santiago – 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 happens when crypto finally builds a trading experience for everyone, not just crypto natives?

This week, Jason sits down with fomo co-founders Paul and Se to discuss why consumer crypto has struggled, how fomo is approaching onchain trading differently, and why they believe social finance is the next major platform.

They explore building for mainstream users, the future of tokenized assets, product design tradeoffs, creator-driven distribution, and why transparent onchain data could redefine how investors discover ideas. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

03:35 Why Consumer Crypto Keeps Failing

09:32 Selling The Social Finance Vision

15:57 From Niche App To Breakout

22:22 How Fomo Acquires Users

27:57 Building The Social Trading Layer

34:44 Fees, Perps, And Onchain Competition

43:37 Expanding Beyond Trading Fees

49:12 Funding Growth Through Market Cycles

53:14 Robinhood, X, And Copy Trading

58:00 Media And Frictionless Onboarding

01:04:03 The Everything Trading App

01:09:00 Crypto, Tokens, And Going Public

FOLLOW GUESTS

› Se – https://x.com/seyong

› Paul – https://x.com/paulerlanger

› fomo – https://x.com/fomo

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.

AI and distribution moats are forcing investors to separate real business transformation from crypto’s unresolved value-capture problem.

This week, Jason and Santi discuss what months of researching crypto adoption taught Inversion, why the firm's investment strategy is evolving, and what it reveals about where value is actually being created today.

They also explore Robinhood's onchain strategy, whether AI is delivering stronger returns than crypto in traditional businesses, the debate over token versus equity value capture, and how the next generation of consumer finance is taking shape. Enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

03:15 Inversion’s Crypto Thesis Reset

06:17 Where Crypto ROI Breaks

11:58 The Distribution Quality Trap

17:12 Inversion Broadens Its Mandate

22:02 Crypto’s Value Capture Problem

28:00 AI Rewrites Company Workflows

31:45 Ads (Peaq)

33:01 AI Pricing Hits The Limit

39:09 Robinhood Chain Takes Off

48:07 Regulatory Arbitrage Goes Onchain

52:35 Finance For The Next Generation

57:02 The Token Equity Debate

FOLLOW THE SHOW

› Empire – https://x.com/theempirepod

› Jason – https://x.com/jasonyanowitz

› Santiago – https://x.com/santiagoroel

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

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

Robots will soon outnumber humans onchain. peaqOS turns them into a new trusted liquid asset class, with yield tied to real-world workloads. It gives robots all they need to do business on any chain — and lets humans earn from automation.

Explore the Machine Economy: https://peaq.xyz

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.

This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss the announcement of OUSD and what it means for the future of Circle. We then deep dive into Robinhood’s recent product launches, Venice’s $65M raise, crypto’s continued discussion around tokens vs. equity, and more. Enjoy!

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Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz

Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM

Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod

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Robots will soon outnumber humans onchain. peaqOS turns them into a new trusted liquid asset class, with yield tied to real-world workloads. It gives robots all they need to do business on any chain — and lets humans earn from automation. Explore the Machine Economy: https://peaq.xyz

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:52) Did Saylor End Strategy’s Sell Off?

(10:15) The Launch of OpenUSD

(17:49) Should Everyone Launch A Stablecoin?

(32:42) peaq Ad

(33:28) Cloudflare's Monetization Gateway

(38:35) Robinhood Launches A Chain

(56:00) Venice Raises $65M & Crypto’s Token vs Equity Problem

(01:16:14) Content of The Week

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

This week, Vishal Garg joins the show to discuss how crypto and AI are reshaping the mortgage market. We deep dive into Better’s business model, why the mortgage market is so inefficient today, how to leverage tokenization and AI, partnering with Coinbase and OpenAI, and more. Enjoy!

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Follow Vishal: https://x.com/vishal_better

Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz

Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod

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Robots will soon outnumber humans onchain. peaqOS turns them into a new trusted liquid asset class, with yield tied to real-world workloads. It gives robots all they need to do business on any chain — and lets humans earn from automation. Explore the Machine Economy: https://peaq.xyz

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Timestamps:

(00:00) What’s Wrong With The Mortgage Market Today

(03:10) The Better Business Model

(20:35) peaq Ad

(21:21) Launching Crypto Backed Mortgages

(30:04) Partnering With Sky

(35:10) The Opportunity For Tokenization & AI

(44:21) Running a Public Company

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.