Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
This week, Bryan Pellegrino and Raz Zarick from LayerZero join the show to discuss Zero, the 100x breakthrough in blockchain architecture. We deep dive into the Zero origin story, the roadmap for 2026, LayerZero's ultimate vision, how to build a moat in crypto, hiring top talent and more. Enjoy!
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Follow Bryan: https://x.com/PrimordialAA
Follow Raz: https://x.com/ryanzarick
Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel
Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod
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Coinbase crypto-backed loans, powered by Morpho, enable you to take out loans at competitive rates using crypto as collateral. Rates are typically 4% to 8%. Borrow up to $5M using BTC as collateral and up to $1M using ETH as collateral.
Manage crypto-backed loans directly in the Coinbase app with ease. Learn more here:
coinbase.com/onchain/borrow/get-started?utm_campaign=0126_defi-borrow_blockworks_empire&marketId=0x9103c3b4e834476c9a62ea009ba2c884ee42e94e6e314a26f04d312434191836&utm_source=empire
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Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in New York City this March! Follow the link below to grab your ticket, and use code EMPIRE200 to get $200 off your ticket!
blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-nyc-2026
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Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:53 The Zero Origin Story
13:55 Zero's 100x Breakthrough
22:10 Achieving 2 Million TPS
32:29 Coinbase Ad
33:14 DAS Plug
33:40 How To Build A Moat In Crypto?
48:05 LayerZero’s Ultimate Vision
57:37 The Impact of AI
01:06:25 Zero’s Roadmap In 2026
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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, Bryan Pellegrino and Raz Zarick from LayerZero join the show to discuss Zero, the 100x breakthrough in blockchain architecture. We deep dive into the Zero origin story, the roadmap for 2026, LayerZero's ultimate vision, how to build a moat in crypto, hiring top talent and more. Enjoy!
--
Follow Bryan: https://x.com/PrimordialAA
Follow Raz: https://x.com/ryanzarick
Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel
Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod
--
Coinbase crypto-backed loans, powered by Morpho, enable you to take out loans at competitive rates using crypto as collateral. Rates are typically 4% to 8%. Borrow up to $5M using BTC as collateral and up to $1M using ETH as collateral.
Manage crypto-backed loans directly in the Coinbase app with ease. Learn more here:
coinbase.com/onchain/borrow/get-started?utm_campaign=0126_defi-borrow_blockworks_empire&marketId=0x9103c3b4e834476c9a62ea009ba2c884ee42e94e6e314a26f04d312434191836&utm_source=empire
--
Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in New York City this March! Follow the link below to grab your ticket, and use code EMPIRE200 to get $200 off your ticket!
blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-nyc-2026
--
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:53 The Zero Origin Story
13:55 Zero's 100x Breakthrough
22:10 Achieving 2 Million TPS
32:29 Coinbase Ad
33:14 DAS Plug
33:40 How To Build A Moat In Crypto?
48:05 LayerZero’s Ultimate Vision
57:37 The Impact of AI
01:06:25 Zero’s Roadmap In 2026
--
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.








![How Arbitrum Landed Robinhood
Gm! This week Yano is joined by Steven and AJ from OffChain Labs to dive into all the behind-the-scenes happenings of one of the biggest deals in recent crypto history - the collaboration between Arbitrum and Robinhood to tokenize both public and private US stocks for European markets.
Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross.
Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire?utm_source=podcasts
Follow Steven - https://x.com/sgoldfed
Follow AJ - https://x.com/ajwarner90
Follow Santi - https://x.com/santiagoroel
Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod
Join the Empire Telegram: https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh
SKALE is the next evolution in Layer 1 blockchains with a gas-free invisible user experience, instant finality, high speed, and robust security. SKALE is built different as it allows for limitless scalability and has already saved its 50 Million users over $11 Billion in gas fees.
SKALE is high-performance and cost-effective, making it ideal for compute-intensive applications like AI, gaming, and consumer-facing dApps. Learn more at https://skale.space and stay up to date with the gas-free invisible blockchain on X at @skalenetwork
Katana is a DeFi-first chain built for deep liquidity and high yield. No empty emissions, just real yield and sequencer fees routed back to DeFi users.
Pre-deposit now: Earn high APRs with Turtle Club [https://app.turtle.club/campaigns/katana] or spin the wheel with Katana Krates [https://app.katana.network/krates]
Mantle is building the financial infrastructure for a tokenised future—bridging traditional finance and on-chain innovation through six integrated product pillars: Mantle Network, mETH Protocol, Function BTC, and the upcoming launches of MantleX, Mantle Banking, and the Mantle Index Four (MI4) Fund. Anchored by one of the largest community-governed treasuries in the industry, valued at over $4 billion, Mantle is delivering institutional-grade products designed for global capital markets.
Follow Mantle on X: https://x.com/Mantle_Official
Zenrock is a permissionless, decentralized custody network backed by 1RoundTable Partners, 10T, Maven11, and Spartan. Live on Jupiter, $ROCK is the native token for transactions within the Zenrock ecosystem and secures Zenrock’s decentralized custody network.
The first application launching on Zenrock is zenBTC – yield-bearing Bitcoin on Solana. zenBTC is now live.
Ledn is the leading platform for Bitcoin-backed loans, offering a secure and transparent way to unlock liquidity without selling your Bitcoin. Ledn has issued over $9 billion in loans since 2018 and has never lost a single satoshi of client assets, earning a reputation as the name you can trust in the crypto space.
Visit https://www.ledn.io to learn more.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
02:45 BTS Of Robinhood X Arbitrum Collab
07:25 Launch & Migrate Strategy
19:01 Ads (Skale, Katana)
20:49 What Did Robinhood Want The Most Out Of Arbitrum
24:03 Business Model Breakdown
38:22 Ads (Skale, Katana)
40:09 The Largest Digital Nation
42:31 OpenAI Tokens
46:56 Next Up To Work With Arbitrum
51:57 Ads (Mantle, Zenrock, ,LEDN)
54:26 Mistakes Around L1s and L2s
01:13:16 Corporate Treasuries
01:16:53 Acquisitions
01:20:13 Stablecoins
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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 Arbitrum Landed Robinhood](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lSibUTs6Fh0/mqdefault.jpg)

