Epicenter Podcast
A long-running technical interview show for crypto professionals, exploring the tech, strategy, and people building the decentralized web.
A weekly panel interview show where crypto-native hosts talk to the founders and builders of blockchain protocols and companies. The conversations are technically dense and professionally focused, examining topics like proposer-builder separation, L1 architecture, on-chain data analytics, and governance models. The hosts act as informed peers to their guests, using their own operational experience to probe into strategic pivots, technical trade-offs, and market positioning.
“Unlike many crypto podcasts, Epicenter has a panel of rotating hosts who are all active, high-level operators and investors in the space. This insider perspective allows for conversations that are significantly deeper and more technical than a typical journalistic interview, focusing on the 'how' and 'why' rather than just the 'what'.”
Who hosts this show
Epicenter is one of the crypto industry's longest-running podcasts, offering in-depth conversations with the founders, engineers, and investors building decentralized technologies. The show is hosted by a rotating cast of crypto-native operators and investors, including Sébastien Couture, Dr. Friederike Ernst, and Brian Fabian Crain. Each episode is a deep dive into a specific project's technical architecture, economic model, and social implications, moving beyond surface-level narratives to understand how the systems actually work.
Credentials & credits
- Sébastien Couture: General Partner at Interop Ventures, a crypto-focused VC fund.
- Dr. Friederike Ernst: Co-founder and COO of Gnosis, a major blockchain infrastructure company.
- Dr. Friederike Ernst: PhD in Physics, with postdoctoral research at Columbia and Stanford University.
- Brian Fabian Crain: Co-founder and CEO of Chorus One, a large staking provider.
- Brian Fabian Crain: Degree in Economics, Philosophy, and Cognitive Science from the University of Chicago and LSE.
Other ventures
- Sébastien Couture: Interop Ventures
- Sébastien Couture: The Interop Podcast
- Dr. Friederike Ernst: Gnosis
- Brian Fabian Crain: Chorus One
- Brian Fabian Crain: Interchain Foundation (former President)
- Brian Fabian Crain: Urbit Foundation (Board Member)
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01Protecting Users from Front-RunningMay 5, 2026 · 2 min
- 02The New MEV Supply Chain ExplainedMay 4, 2026 · 2 min
- 03Inside the High-Stakes World of Block Building #crypto #ethereumMay 3, 2026 · 2 min
- 04Why Only 3 Builders Control All of EthereumMay 1, 2026 · 59 min
- 05Institutional Yield on Bitcoin, Gold and Stablecoins is HereApr 13, 2026 · 56 min
- 06Inside Nansen's AI Trading Agent PlatformMar 30, 2026 · 56 min
- 07Agentic AI Takes Crypto to the Next Level?Feb 27, 2026 · 1h 11m
- 08What are Real World Assets (RWA) and Why You Should Pay Attention.Feb 22, 2026 · 58 min
Notable episodes
- 01Why Only 3 Builders Control All of Ethereum
A deep dive into the opaque but critical world of Ethereum block building, explaining the market concentration and technical dynamics of Proposer-Builder Separation.
- 02Institutional Yield on Bitcoin, Gold and Stablecoins is Here
Features the new CEO of Movement Labs explaining the project's turnaround after a major controversy, detailing changes in governance and a strategic pivot from an L2 to an L1.
- 03Inside Nansen's AI Trading Agent Platform
Explores the strategic pivot of a major on-chain analytics platform, Nansen, into an AI-powered trading product, discussing the rationale and technical challenges.
What you'll be asked on this show
The hosts, primarily Sébastien Couture and Friederike Ernst in recent episodes, are deeply embedded in the crypto ecosystem and interview guests as peers. They typically open by asking for a project's origin story or, if relevant, by directly addressing a recent controversy to give the guest a chance to frame the narrative. Their questioning is methodical, often moving from past (company history, market evolution) to present (current tech stack, governance changes) to future (roadmap, market positioning). A key technique is paraphrasing a guest's complex technical explanation and asking "Is that a fair characterization?" to ensure accuracy. Sébastien Couture is also noted for his on-air disclosures when his venture fund, Interop Ventures, has invested in a guest's company.
The show features a rotating cast of hosts who conduct one-on-one interviews with guests. Episodes typically open by establishing a guest's backstory or addressing a timely controversy, then progress logically through technical architecture, business strategy, and future roadmaps. A signature of the hosts is to frequently paraphrase complex technical topics and ask for confirmation, ensuring clarity for the expert audience.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
12 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when the host reaches for it.
origin
1- Q.01
“Can you give us the backstory of how the project got started?”
This is a frequent opening question used to establish the context and origin of the guest's company or protocol.
process
2- Q.01
“Why did the project pivot from [old strategy] to [new strategy]?”
The hosts often focus on major strategic shifts to understand the 'why' behind a company's evolution.
- Q.02
“How do you go from raw on-chain data to meaningful insights?”
Asked of data/analytics companies to understand their value-add on top of public information.
craft
2- Q.01
“Can you explain how [a specific technical process] actually works?”
Used to move from high-level concepts to the specific mechanics of a protocol or system.
- Q.02
“What are the different technical components of your stack?”
A direct question to get a clear breakdown of a project's architecture.
money
2- Q.01
“How do the economics work for [a specific mechanism or stakeholder]?”
This question probes the financial incentives and business model that underpins the technology.
- Q.02
“Is there still real 'alpha' in [a specific technique or data source]?”
This question challenges the current value proposition of established strategies in the market.
industry
1- Q.01
“Why is this market dominated by just a few major players?”
This question addresses market concentration and competitive dynamics in a specific sector.
controversy
1- Q.01
“What changes have you implemented around transparency and governance?”
Often asked of projects that have faced past controversy to understand how they've rebuilt trust.
values
1- Q.01
“Where do you draw the line on [an ethical issue like privacy or censorship]?”
This probes the ethical framework and policies guiding a project's operations.
future
2- Q.01
“How do you think about the project's core positioning in the market today?”
A forward-looking question to understand a project's current strategy and competitive landscape.
- Q.02
“What is the specific product-market fit you're targeting?”
This pushes guests to define their target user and niche beyond being a general-purpose platform.
Signature segments
- · "Welcome to Epicenter, the show which talks about the technologies, projects and people driving decentralization and the blockchain revolution."
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are almost exclusively C-level founders, CEOs, and lead researchers from crypto infrastructure projects, DeFi protocols, and data analytics firms. The show books guests to explain new product launches, unpack major strategic pivots, or provide expert commentary on evolving market dynamics.
- Kubi Mensahon Why Only 3 Builders Control All of Ethereum
- Torab Torabion Institutional Yield on Bitcoin, Gold and Stablecoins is Here
- Alex Svanevikon Inside Nansen's AI Trading Agent Platform
- John Palleron Agentic AI Takes Crypto to the Next Level?
- Chris Yinon What are Real World Assets (RWA) and Why You Should Pay Attention.
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
Sponsors are crypto-native companies like Lido and Near AI Cloud, indicating the audience is composed of active developers, users, and investors in the Web3 ecosystem whom other crypto projects want to reach.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- Who are the hosts of Epicenter?
- Epicenter has a team of rotating hosts, including Sébastien Couture (GP at Interop Ventures), Dr. Friederike Ernst (COO of Gnosis), and Brian Fabian Crain (CEO of Chorus One).
- What is the format of the show?
- It is a weekly, long-form interview podcast. Each episode features one or more hosts in conversation with a leader from a crypto project, focusing on technology, economics, and strategy.
- Is Epicenter still producing new episodes?
- Yes, the podcast is updated weekly and has been running since 2014.
- What topics does Epicenter cover?
- The show covers the technical, economic, and social implications of crypto, including blockchain architecture (L1/L2), DeFi, MEV, on-chain analytics, governance, and new technologies like AI's impact on Web3.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- Epicenter is available on its official website, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other major podcast platforms.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Epicenter Official Websiteepicenter.tv
- [02]Epicenter - Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [03]Dr. Friederike Ernst - The Blocktheblock.co
- [04]Dr. Friederike Ernst - IQ.wikiiq.wiki
- [05]Brian Fabian Crain - Coinpediacoinpedia.org
- [06]Sébastien Couture - Personal Websitesebastiencouture.com
- [07]Interop Ventures - Mediummedium.com
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