McDonald's to Meme Coins: Culture's New Financial Frontier
Avery and Sam dissect cultural shifts happening: Creator influence reaching new heights and the increasing financialization of culture.
ABOUT
In this episode, hosts Avery and Sam discuss the McDonald's x Doodles partnership and what it signals for Web3 brand collaborations. They also explore the growing power of creators and influencers, using Jake Paul's recent Netflix boxing match as a recent case study and finally, they dive into crypto's latest bull run and why everyone from 12-year-olds to art collectors are trying to cash in on the culture market.
Links mentioned from the podcast:
- 110M Doodles coffee cups appear at McDonald’s across the US: NFT Collector
- Netflix Says Mike Tyson-Jake Paul Was a ‘Huge Success,’ While Acknowledging Tech Issues
- ‘The world's most expensive banana’: Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian fetches $6.2m at Sotheby’s New York
- Liz Hagelthorn’s LinkedIn post
Watch this episode on video:
Follow us on Twitter:
"Gen C" features hosts Sam Ewen and Avery Akkineni. Executive produced by by Uyen Truong. Our theme music is "1882” by omgkirby x Channel Tres with editing by Doc Blust. Artwork by Nicole Marie Rincon.
HOSTS
Sam Ewen is CoinDesk's SVP, head of CoinDesk Social, Multimedia & CD Studios

EPISODES
The Art of Crypto Brand Building at Scale
Olivia Santarelli, Gemini’s Head of Marketing, breaks down how innovative campaigns and visionary storytelling drive ...
Aug 11, 2025
The Wireless Revolution Fueled by Blockchain
Frank Mong of Helium reveals how blockchain-powered hotspots and shared infrastructure are disrupting traditional tel...
Aug 4, 2025
Legacy Rewired: Where Traditional Media Meets New Tech
Maya Draisin, Chief Brand Officer at TIME, highlights how the 102-year-old brand evolves with new technologies while ...
Jul 28, 2025
Rachael Horwitz on Crypto's Mainstream Moment and the Art of VC Storytelling
Haun Ventures CMO Rachael Horwitz breaks down how crypto is going mainstream through stablecoins and why the industry...
Jul 22, 2025

The Mining Pod
Feb 10, 2025

CoinDesk Podcast Network
The top stories and best shows in the blockchain world, delivered daily from the team at CoinDesk.
Dec 20, 2023

Markets Outlook
Tune in as CoinDesk runs down action in the crypto market and some of the most important recent industry development.
Dec 19, 2023

Unchained
Unchained, your no hype resource for all things crypto by former Forbes senior editor Laura Shin, author of The Cryptopians.
Dec 18, 2023

