New Podcast from Blockworks Showcases the Personal Stories of Crypto Founders

Many of today’s unicorn crypto companies started as a dream — entrepreneurs who took a leap of faith on a small internet phenomenon called Bitcoin.  Throughout my time in this space, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet hundreds of founders building […]

article-image
share

Many of today’s unicorn crypto companies started as a dream — entrepreneurs who took a leap of faith on a small internet phenomenon called Bitcoin. 

Throughout my time in this space, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet hundreds of founders building this new financial system. Everyday, we hear the announcements, the fund raises, and the product launches.

But I wanted to hear the real stories – the stories that usually aren’t publicly shared.

On Empire, I’ll reveal the personal struggles, bold moves, and tough decisions that these individuals have gone through to build this new industry. For any NPR or Guy Raz fans out there, you can think of Empire like a “How I Built This” for the Bitcoin and crypto industry.

Empire launches on Thursday, March 4th, 2021.

Episodes will be released every Thursday morning. Early guests include Muneeb Ali of Blockstack, Mike Belshe of BitGo, Bobby Ong of CoinGecko, and Joe Lubin of ConsenSys.

Subscribe to Empire today on Apple or Spotify. Watch the episode on YouTube.

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Figure, founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has emerged as a leader in onchain RWAs, with ~$17.5B publicly tokenized. The platform’s ecosystem volume is growing ~40% YoY as it expands beyond HELOCs into student loans, DSCR loans, unsecured loans, bankruptcy claims, and more. Operationally, Figure cuts average loan production cost by ~93% and compresses median funding time from ~42 days to ~10, creating a durable speed-and-cost advantage.

article-image

Insiders have the best information — markets should be willing to pay for it

article-image

The CFTC-regulated exchange is opening doors to crypto builders and traders through grants, partnerships, and new deposit options

by Blockworks /
article-image

DFS tells banking organizations to integrate blockchain monitoring tools to curb money laundering and sanctions risks

by Blockworks /
article-image

New short and long-term priorities include L1 gas boosts, ZK-EVMs, privacy reads, and a lean, quantum-resistant Ethereum

by Blockworks /
article-image

The new stBTC token redistributes Bitcoin gas fees to users, creating liquid yield without inflation or lockups

by Blockworks /
article-image

The reserve will collect protocol revenues to back W token, alongside new yield and unlock schedule

by Blockworks /