In this episode of Empire, Simon Jones joins us to discuss DeFi's interest rate opportunity. A year ago, DeFi's meme was, "Why earn .01% in your bank account when you can earn 20%+ in DeFi". Fast forward to today, and TradFi offers higher yields than DeFi. Did we get rugged, or what's the new opportunity? Tune in as we explore the correlation between TradFi and DeFi rates, DeFi's low cost-of-capital opportunity, the efficiency of market-driven protocols, importing TradFi yields on-chain and more! - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:15) The Divergence of TradFi & DeFi Rates (11:00) DeFi Responded 10x Faster Than the Fed (17:42) Leveraging DeFi as a Cheap Source of Funding (20:59) Importing TradFi Yields On-Chain (27:35) Why Institutions Will Use On-Chain Products (32:11) Replacing Regulation With Smart Contracts & Incentives (36:46) Voltz and the Importance of Fixed Rates (41:16) Will TradFi & DeFi Rates Eventually Converge? - - Follow Simon: https://twitter.com/0xSimonJones Follow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_ 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 Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- 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 http://empirepodcast.link/circle 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. - - Resources Voltz https://www.voltz.xyz/ Voltz research paper on DeFi vs TradFi rates https://www.voltz.xyz/tradfi-vs-defi-rates Bell Curve episode with Simon https://bit.ly/3PC7lEj - - 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.