ROLLUP: Bitcoin Dominance Hits 66% | Circle IPO 10x | Robinhood Flips Coin? | Kalshi vs Polymarket
This week, David and guest co-host Tom Schmidt (Dragonfly) unpack a deceptively quiet crypto market with Bitcoin dominance hitting 66% and altcoins eerily still. What meta could flip the trend?
They dive into Circle’s explosive 10x IPO, Robinhood’s surprise crypto surge, and why Coinbase is finally catching up. Plus: the Kalshi vs. Polymarket drama, ICOs creeping back, and how meme coins might soon help you get a mortgage.
Also: Vitalik’s Layer 1 pivot, prediction markets heating up, and signs of a new retail cycle forming.
Tom Schmidt & Chopping Block
https://x.com/tomhschmidt
https://x.com/_choppingblock
https://x.com/dragonfly_xyz
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
0:46 Tom’s crypto vibe check
1:50 Markets
26:53 Kalshi Series C
https://x.com/tomhschmidt/status/1937957381197185165
https://www.wsj.com/finance/prediction-market-kalshi-hits-2-billion-valuation-in-new-funding-round-2d0c8b4c
https://x.com/tomhschmidt/status/1937957381197185165
https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1938065110351716707
36:50 US regulator orders Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to consider crypto for mortgages
https://x.com/pulte/status/1937944964656152800
https://x.com/crypto_bobby/status/1937951968619639046
43:44 Ethereum
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1936037598805590364
49:04 What Tom’s excited about
53:01 Closing & Disclaimers
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Tom Schmidt on why this cycle is different for venture
The Scoop's host Frank Chaparro was joined by Dragonfly Partner Tom Schmidt.
In this episode, Chaparro and Schmidt discussed the cryptocurrency market acting as an institutional asset class moving into 2025, and how this cycle has been different for venture captial operating within the space.
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
01:39 Crypto as an institutional asset
11:47 Crypto market idiosyncrasies
18:20 Opportunities in 2025
22:28 Application in 2025
25:59 Anti-VC backlash
30:37 Customer acquisition
35:36 Closing thoughts
GUEST LINKS
Tom Schmidt - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhschmidt/
Tom Schmidt on X - https://x.com/tomhschmidt
Dragonfly - https://www.dragonfly.xyz/
Dragonfly on X - https://x.com/dragonfly_xyz
Can Crypto Find a New Narrative? | Haseeb Qureshi & Tom Schmidt
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Haseeb Qureshi and Tom Schmidt from 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.
We 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
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Follow Haseeb: https://twitter.com/hosseeb
Follow Tom: https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt
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Referenced in the show:
Dragonfly's letter to founders
https://tinyurl.com/493vrmpp
Tom's tweet on Porter Finance
https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt/status/1533779269851176960
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ParaSwap:
If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices and lowest slippage.
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(00:00) Introduction
(01:33) Today's Narrative
(05:25) A venture capitalist perspective
(08:17) Rising interest rates and available capital
(16:15) The big outstanding problems
(21:29) Utilizing debt financing
(27:35) The changing meta
(31:49) Paraswap Ad
(32:58) The layer one wars
(36:00) How projects "shop around" protocols
(39:10) Where should new projects build?
(42:22) The end of airdrops
(47:28) How founders should approach growth
(51:25) Advice on down rounds
(59:32) Public vs Private markets
(1:02:47) How long will the bear market last?
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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, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
How The DeFi Ecosystem Grows | Tom Schmidt & Tarun Chitra
On today's episode of Empire, Jason sits with Tom Schmidt of Dragonfly Cap and Tarun Chitra of Gauntlet for a DeFi deep dive. They cover a range of topics, from DAOs and governance, to the digitization of corporations in our increasingly technology-based world. Revisiting familiar subjects like tokenization and Web 2.0 creators coming to Web 3.0.
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ParaSwap:
If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage.
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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, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
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Tom Schmidt Explains What You Need to Know about DeFi
By now you've no doubt heard about DeFi: the hot vision of crypto that aims to disrupt traditional lending and fundraising. But the space remains really difficult to grasp. There's all kinds of jargon — Automated Market Makers, Impermanent Loss, etc. — and the markets don't quite operate like traditional markets do. So how does it all really work? Where's it going? And what will it all be used for beyond speculation? On this episode, we speak with Tom Schmidt of Dragonfly Capital to break it all down.
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