Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur, author, and CEO of VaynerMedia, a digital marketing agency he built into a significant firm. He built a large personal brand through early YouTube content about wine and wine investment, followed by decades of content about entrepreneurship, social media strategy, and business. He is widely regarded as an early advocate for digital marketing and social media's commercial potential and commands a large and loyal following.

In 2021, Vaynerchuk launched VeeFriends, an NFT collection positioned as a community access and events token project. NFTs minted at approximately 2.5 ETH each — over seven thousand dollars at the time of launch. The primary utility was access to VeeCon, an annual business conference, and access to Vaynerchuk's broader community. He promoted the project extensively through his media channels and encouraged followers to take a long-term perspective on the investment thesis.

As the broader NFT market declined in 2022, VeeFriends holders watched the value of their tokens fall substantially. Vaynerchuk also launched VeeFriends Series 2, a considerably larger collection than the original, which critics argued diluted the scarcity and exclusivity that had justified Series 1's premium pricing. Holders of original tokens saw the floor price decline as the supply expanded. Vaynerchuk argued he was transparent about the long-term nature of the project and that price volatility was an expected feature of speculative digital assets, not a representation of the project's ultimate value.

Vaynerchuk's critics argue that his motivational content style — encouraging followers to trust their gut, think long-term, and invest in themselves — made it difficult for buyers to apply normal financial skepticism to VeeFriends purchases. His supporters note he has not been charged with wrongdoing and that NFT markets broadly declined rather than VeeFriends specifically failing. The project continues to operate.