Podcast: Can Crypto Find a New Narrative? | Haseeb Qureshi & Tom Schmidt

Haseeb Qureshi and Tom Schmidt join Jason to discuss the state of the market and debate crypto’s next narrative

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In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Haseeb Qureshi and Tom Schmidt of Dragonfly Capital. Haseeb and Tom are top venture capitalists with unique insights into crypto’s current trends, new innovations and market sentiment. If you want expert advice on the market, these are two people you ask.

Haseeb Qureshi and Tom Schmidt discuss:

  • the venture capital landscape
  • power is shifting to investors
  • being long crypto while fighting the Fed
  • supercharged crowdfunding
  • convertible bonds & debt financing
  • the changing meta
  • how projects choose where to build
  • the end of airdrops
  • market outlook

Check out what they had to say in the video below.👇

About the show

“Empire” is a twice-a-week show where we share the real crypto stories that aren’t heard elsewhere. On Mondays, Jason and Santiago Santos interview crypto industry movers and shakers to talk about their struggles, bold moves and tough decisions. Finish off the week with Friday’s weekly roundup episode that covers the top news and narratives of the week.

For any NPR or Guy Raz fans out there, you can think of “Empire” as a “How I Built This” for Web3.

Subscribe to “Empire” today on Apple or Spotify. Watch episodes on YouTube.


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Neutrl is a synthetic dollar protocol designed to monetize structural inefficiencies in crypto markets, with a particular focus on hedged OTC token arbitrage. By pairing discounted locked-token purchases with delta-neutral hedging, the protocol offers yields that are less dependent on funding rate cycles than traditional cash and carry strategies. Early traction has been strong, with TVL growing from $120M to $210M following the removal of deposit caps, while sNUSD currently yields materially more than competing yield-bearing stablecoins. The key question for Neutrl is scalability: whether access to high-quality OTC deal flow and disciplined liquidity management can support continued TVL growth without compressing returns.

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