Every major coordination problem in history has been solved through central authorities. Protocols are the rare exception. When they work, protocols become infrastructure that entire economies run on. This article builds a framework for understanding most market structures, and shows why protocols occupy a narrow and fragile corner of that space.

These opportunities span user-owned systems, globally accessible markets, entertainment built on new financial primitives, and infrastructure for a world where AI builds software. But they all share a common thread: they explore how power, access, and ownership should work in a world where AI is ubiquitous and deeply embedded.

We are delighted to announce Ren Crypto Fish’s new role at Electric Capital as a General Partner. Ren exemplifies our engineering-lead investment approach. He combines technical depth with investment insights - using his understanding of protocol design, security, and engineering talent to spot and back high-conviction opportunities at the frontier of technology.

We analyzed three months of transactions from wallets holding stablecoins across Ethereum, Base, BSC, Tron, and Solana – the five largest stablecoin networks representing $13.59T in transaction volume from July to September 2025. By mapping when these wallets holding stablecoins were active, we can infer where users are located globally.

Avichal Garg joins the Empire podcast to discuss DATs, and beyond exploringnDATs, the White House Crypto Report is explored, Zora creator tokens, and the BIG news of the collaboration between Coinbase and Chase to push crypto into mass adoption orbit.