AI Summary
5 min read“I remember sitting with Mike getting beers after work one day and talking about what we would do if all of crypto failed,” recalls one host. “And I said I would go get a job at Uber and Mike said he would go get a job at Netflix. Like we were talking about what we would do if the whole entire industry didn’t exist.” That was 2018. Today, the question is different: not whether the industry survives, but whether the tokens go up again. This tension — between a thriving infrastructure layer and a bearish sentiment market — is the throughline of the episode, which covers the psychology of the current cycle, the real-world traction of stablecoins, the rise of AI trading agents, the long-awaited arrival of fixed-rate lending in DeFi, and the regulatory outlook from a recent trip to Washington, D.C.
The Bearish Mood Is Real, But Different
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Disclaimer & Cold Open** - Standard disclaimer followed by hosts Santi, Rob, and Yano joking about a MetaMask pop-up and setting the table for a bearish market discussion.
- 2 (01:10) **Is This Cycle Worse Than 2018?** - Santi asks if the current market mood is worse than the 2018/2019 bear market, noting the lack of a single catalyst like FTX or Luna.
- 3 (06:20) **The Bear Case: Crypto's Narrow Use Cases** - Santi pushes back, arguing crypto may become "irrelevant" rather than dead, as stablecoins have a very narrow set of proven use cases.
- 4 (09:16) **The Stablecoin Debate: Narrow vs. Transformative** - Santi clarifies he's not anti-stablecoin, but believes the opportunity is more concentrated (Tether, Hyperliquid) than the broad transformation many expect.
- 5 (18:11) **Best Concrete Application of Stablecoins** - Yano asks for the best real-world case study to show a skeptic.
- 6 (22:15) **AI Agents & The Future of Fintech** - Yano introduces the trend of AI agents (Robinhood, Liquid/Co-Invest) and asks if ChatGPT/Claude will gobble up all fintech platforms.
- 7 (32:29) **Morpho's Fixed-Rate Lending: A Missing Primitive** - The hosts discuss Morpho's "Midnight" whitepaper for non-custodial, fixed-rate, fixed-term credit markets.
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Show Notes
This week, we’re back with another weekly roundup to discuss why everyone in crypto feels so bearish. We then dive deep into whether stablecoins significantly improve payment rails, Robinhood’s AI agent announcement, Rob’s takeaways from a trip to D.C., MicroStrategy and RoboStrategy NAV premiums, and more. Enjoy!
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Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel
Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM
Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(00:50) Why’s The Timeline So Bearish?
(22:12) Robinhood Launches AI Agents
(32:23) Morpho Midnight
(44:27) Is DeFi Uninvestable?
(49:15) Takeaways From D.C.
(54:14) MicroStrategy & RoboStrategy NAV Premiums
(58:22) 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.
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