Gary Vaynerchuk on AI, Entrepreneurship and Why Blockchain Is Still Relevant

Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman of VaynerX and CEO and Creator of VeeFriends, joins Gen C to discuss why we are living through the most consequential technological moment since electricity. Sam and Gary dig into his long-held conviction that NFTs are a generational collectible, not a fad, his bold thesis that the rise of AI will trigger a massive IRL comeback, and why agentic commerce will make brands more important, not less. Links mentioned from the podcast: Gary’s Twitter: https://x.com/garyvee Vayner Website: https://vaynerx.com/ VeeFriends Website: https://veefriends.com/ 00:00 Blockchain Meets AI 00:45 Managing Chaos in 2026 02:07 Maybe Culture Mindset 04:43 AI Opportunity for Have Nots 06:44 AI Bigger Than Internet 08:21 Innovation Mount Rushmore 10:00 Entrepreneurs and AI Leverage 12:21 Understanding Blockchain Ownership 14:53 NFTs as Collectibles 18:51 VeeFriends and Calling the Top 20:36 Speculation and Junk Wax Era 21:30 Stimulus and Collectibles 22:09 Big Dreams Roadmaps 22:33 Jets vs VeeFriends 24:45 Garage Sale Arbitrage 27:05 Consistency and Positivity 28:35 Trading Culture Shift 30:45 AI Exposes People 32:50 Marketing to AI Agents 37:35 Return of IRL 40:46 Optimism About Humanity #cryptocurrency #digitalfinance #finance #bitcoin #crypto Subscribe to CoinDesk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CoinDesk?sub_confirmation=1 CoinDesk is the leading digital media, events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community. Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/coindesk LinkedIn: https://www.din.com/company/coindesk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coindesk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoinDesk Newsletters: https://www.coindesk.com/newsletters CoinDesk Podcast Network: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jyIhkvAQhed8AWDZiPpSP Public Keys: https://open.spotify.com/show/1rqYzRV10nfKfoTpFXZhTE Markets Daily Crypto Roundup: https://open.spotify.com/show/7sDXM8BlxsUqzL2IqmLqwE The Policy Protocol: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Fh8ffulAWcCqMu0uVuwoj