In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Zaki Manian and Jack Zampolin to explore the past, present and future of the Cosmos ecosystem and tech stack.
What are the advantages of application-specific chains? How will IBC and Interchain security shape the future of cross-chain interactions? What is ATOM 2.0? We discuss these questions and more in this Cosmos deep dive.
- -
Follow Zaki: https://twitter.com/zmanian
Follow Jack: https://twitter.com/jackzampolin
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel
Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j
Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7
Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw
--
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:21 History of Cosmos & Tendermint
18:18 App-Chain Thesis
30:47 DyDx's Move to Cosmos
40:57 Circle Ad
42:39 Cosmos & ATOM Value Accrual
50:29 ATOM 2.0 Alpha
52:33 Asynchronous Composability, Flash Loans and New Innovations
1:05:44 Expanding Cosmos, MEV and IBC Ethereum
1:16:52 Pros and Cons of the Cosmos Developer Collective
--
Circle’s USDC has quickly become one of the most trusted and widely used stablecoins because of its composability, stability and reserve transparency. As a seamless, trusted digital currency, USDC is a zero-to-one opportunity for the global financial system. Check out their Transparency Hub at circle.com/transparency that outlines everything from links to USDC weekly reserve reports, monthly attestations, and blog posts written by their executive team highlighting how and why USDC was built the way it is.
- -
Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/
- -
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.