Blockchain 35 Under 35 List 2023: Meet the Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs

2022 was marked with some major shocks to the global blockchain industry that encountered another enduring ‘crypto winter’, the collapse of TerraUSD and Luna, and FTX’s filing for bankruptcy. But despite this, the technology itself is here to stay for good and keeps improving, promising even more disruptive use cases for digital banking, finance, and cybersecurity in 2023.

This year is supposed to become transitional for many since the blockchain sector will only strengthen its positions in society and the economy, reaching the market size of $4.7 billion.

All that would be impossible without substantial and meaningful contributions from blockchain and Web3-oriented innovators. Today Crypto Daily is delighted to celebrate the most promising of them by unveiling our premiere edition of 35 Under 35 list – we scoured crypto Twitter, LinkedIn and Product Hunt to pick up far-sighted startup founders, developers, C-level and media executives, as well as bloggers, marketing and PR adepts.  

So without further ado, sit back and check out the honorees for 2023.

Mike Ermolaev, Founder, Outset PR

Mike Ermolaev gained recognition for his trailblazing work in blockchain PR and journalism. His most notable work includes in-depth market analytics for Cointelegraph and exclusive signature series ‘Crypto Opinion with Mike Ermolaev’ for Benzinga.com, under which Mike has interviewed blockchain influencers like Jimmy Song and world-famous celebrities including Prince Philip of Serbia and French Montana. Meanwhile, Ermolaev has handled PR and communications at ChangeNOW, FutureComes, and Kikimora Labs. This joint expertise resulted in launching his own Outset PR agency. 

Taras Dovgal, VP of Products, Münzen

Taras Dovgal is a serial entrepreneur with years of coding experience. Before stepping into the crypto space in 2017, Taras founded several successful fintech startups. Having led a range of industry-defining initiatives, from DeFi projects to CBDCs to venture studios, he is a prominent figure among crypto entrepreneurs. Currently, Dovgal is the VP of Products at Münzen, an enterprise-focused crypto processing platform. He has achieved this ambition through prolific networking, innovative content, and vocal advocacy for the blockchain movement.

Serge Baloyan, Founder, X10 Agency

Serge Baloyan is the visionary founder of X10 Agency offering crypto and NFT marketing services. With an impressive portfolio boasting collaborations with over 150 projects, Serge's extensive experience positions him as one of the most seasoned experts in the field. Baloyan's insightful predictions, like the NFT boom before many even knew what it is, highlight his deep industry knowledge. He is also a keynote speaker at global conferences, shaping the future of blockchain and inspiring others along the way. 

Marat Minkin, Founder, TONBanking

Marat Minkin is a successful entrepreneur and blockchain evangelist. He founded TONBanking, a banking services startup that connects sellers with buyers on Telegram, authored the TON Community Manifesto, and created the Dubai TON community. Alongside his work in blockchain, Minkin is committed to philanthropy, environmental activism, and a healthy lifestyle as a passionate golfer. Marat’s expertise in marketing and blockchain-based financial services has made him a sought-after speaker and thought leader, driving the adoption of decentralized finance.

Aler Denisov, CEO, Tookey

Aler Denisov brings a wealth of experience to his role as CEO of Tookey.io, an open-source private key management infrastructure fortified by MPC-TSS, backed by Aave DAO and Stacks Foundation. Prior to this, as CTO, Aler spearheaded secure key management across numerous crypto projects. His portfolio includes Oxygen, Solana's first lending platform; Eywa, a groundbreaking decentralized oracle network; and GP7, a robust wallet for both private and corporate use. With Tookey.io, Denisov democratizes access to top-tier security technologies, safeguarding crypto assets from unauthorized access.

Gleb Alekhin, COO, FinchPay

Fueled by the profound experience in IT digital projects, strategic management and service delivery, Gleb Alekhin is currently maintaining operational excellence as COO of FinchPay, a crypto on-and-off-ramp platform. Since moving to the position in 2022, he has streamlined the company’s in-house processes, while also having upgraded customer experience and overall quality of service. Apart from his tech expertise and hard skills, Alekhin proved to have two more superpowers which are building and managing high-performing teams and mentoring.

Oleg Pivovarenko, CEO, 2PMarketing

In his role as CEO of 2PMarketing agency, Oleg Pivovarenko is in charge of curating the development of marketing campaigns for Web3, blockchain, fintech, and gambling brands. Having worked in digital marketing for 14 years, 8 of which he has been engaged in blockchain marketing, Oleg has implemented data-driven strategies for over 130 projects, including the world’s leading crypto exchanges like Binance, KuCoin, and Nominex. With 2PMarketing, Pivovarenko’s mission is to drive tangible results, connecting cold numbers with audience psychology.

Eugene Ipatko, Member of the Board of Directors, EHOLD

Since entering the crypto market in 2017, Eugene Ipatko’s influence on blockchain can’t be understated. He co-founded WeWay, the platform that has catalyzed crypto adoption faster than ever thought possible with the best base of KOLs and influencers in the world. Subsequently, Ipatko’s creation of WePad broke new ground in community-driven, transparent IDOs. Eugene has also enjoyed huge successes in his role as CEO at TrendLine Global and Member of the Board of Directors of EHOLD.

Leon-Ardo Salamatin, CMO, 2PMarketing

Leon-ardo Salamatin has over 7 years of experience in digital marketing, representing industries such as blockchain, fintech, gambling, adult, and SaaS. In 2020, Leon-ardo launched MediaManager, a company that drives sales for businesses using tailor-made marketing strategies. In parallel, as CMO of 2PMarketing, he is involved in developing creative and practical approaches for each client individually. Salamatin’s portfolio includes the blockchain industry’s giants like Huobi and OKEx, two premier crypto exchanges; as well as Mtrading, a major stock market broker.

Vivian Cheng, CEO, Relatance

As the CEO of Relatance, a global PR agency, Vivian Cheng has been instrumental in helping brands in the blockchain space achieve unparalleled success through effective communications strategies. Vivian's commitment to excellence has empowered her to assemble and lead a talented global team of professionals. Her expertise in go-to-market strategy and execution has enabled major brands to achieve recognition and growth in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and beyond, driving results and impact in the fast-paced world of new technology.

Raghav Sawhney, Founding Director, Wasserstoff

Over years of experience in the industry, Raghav Sawhney has catered to the marketing and technical needs of more than 350 companies and individuals. In his founding roles, he is running Wasserstoff, a tech incubation company that ensures frictionless growth of tech startups; BTC Wires, a blockchain news platform; and Blockchain PR Buzz agency. Raghav is also working on UATU, a backend solution for developers, but doesn’t plan to stop there, as ChainScan and Wires Media are scheduled to launch soon.

Filip Maloca, Founder, TopDog Society

Filip Maloca started out his Web3 career in 2017, from there building and running nine successful marketing campaigns for Ethereum-based NFT collections as well as progressing to devising marketing campaigns for DAOs, DeFi Protocols, and an L1 Multichain network. Recently he’s taken on the role of co-founder at SourceFeed, an AI-driven news platform for Web3, solving the problem of information overload and discovery in the industry. The project is currently fundraising and building a community via the launch of the TopDog Society NFT.

João Fouad, CEO & Founder, Highline Venture Builder

Diagnosed as a rebel by his parents, João Fouad always seeks to break the status quo and build new realities based on innovations in the companies he went through and founded. An international cutting-edge speaker and mentor, João has been a disruptive entrepreneur since he was 16, specializing in finance, investments, business intelligence, e-commerce, and the startup ecosystem. Fouad now leads Highline Venture Builder, an international hub dedicated to promoting new millionaire businesses and technologies for the Web3 and blockchain era. 

Simon Cowell, André Neves and Christian Moss, Co-founders, ZEBEDEE

Inspired by the thesis that virtual activity will represent the majority of the future metaverse economy, Simon Cowell, André Neves and Christian Moss joined their efforts to establish ZEBEDEE in 2019. The company aims at streamlining blockchain game payments, creating tools and infrastructure for the interaction and exchange of value between players, creators, streamers, and watchers. The founders’ executing, engineering, and Bitcoin game developing skills complement each other well, giving a boost to a rapid rise of their common brainchild.

Nikita Bogdanov, CEO, SpiritMe 

Nikita Bogdanov is a result-focused entrepreneur and product owner who has dedicated over 9 years of his life to building world-changing projects across some emerging industries like AI, machine learning, and metaverse. Bogdanov’s portfolio features managing several digital products such as Visper and BestVision. An outstanding startup mindset helped him to launch and untwist SpiritMe, the service that is currently making waves, generating realistic videos where look-alike digital avatars say users’ texts and mimic their voices and emotions.

Mounir Laggoune, CEO, Finary

Mounir Laggoune worked at Trainline, Captain Train and Yoopies before becoming the CEO of Finary. His compelling vision of blockchain technology and unique approach to entrepreneurship allowed Mounir to introduce a startup that reimagines private banking and makes financial success available to a new generation of funders. Laggoune is also an angel investor to a number of digital products including Freetrade, a commission-free investment platform. Outside of the office, he advocates a healthy lifestyle, often cycling and playing tennis. 

Rohit Sharma, Anurag Meena and Viren Baid, Co-Founders, Fitmint

In early 2022, Rohit Sharma, Anurag Meena and Viren Baid launched Fitmint, a killer move-to-earn app that rewards users with crypto and NFTs for staying fit. The founding trio divided between them the responsibilities for product and finance, technology and marketing, respectively, delivering a global product built out of India. Prior to this, in August 2021, Rohit and Anurag teamed up to embark on their crypto entrepreneurial journey by co-founding Cryptonuke, a news-based cryptocurrency trading tool. 

Tomas Jasovsky, CEO, AhoyConnect

With over a decade of experience and 9 companies under his belt, Tomas Jasovsky has been working as CEO of AhoyConnect and AhoyTeam for about 2 years. Both these rockstar startups are dedicated to boost growth of Web3 communities by offering holistic and easy-to-use analytical tools. Jasovsky’s business success was honored by Forbes Slovensko 30 under 30 where he got featured as one of the most influential Slovacs for redefining and setting trends in the startup and technology fields. 

Greg Mustreader, Blogger, Co-founder, TGS

Greg Mustreader is known for his blogs and podcasts, with 130,000 subscribers on TikTok and featured topics such as AI, Web3, and tech trends. Guests of his podcast, also available in video form on YouTube, include Aubrey DeGrey, Robert Sapolsky, Peter Singer, and many others. The podcast is dedicated to tech trends and the future of humankind. Greg is also a co-founder at TGS, a marketing studio focused on growing Web3 companies by producing content and influencer collaborations.

Chris Maddern and Christine Hall Brown, Co-founders, Floor

Chris Maddern, ex-Button, Venmo and LinksDAO, and Christine Hall Brown, former crypto COO at Robinhood, started Floor in 2022, with the mission of making NFTs understandable and accessible en masse. The entrepreneurial duo partnered with the Solana Foundation to provide Web3 newbies with a full-service app for enjoying intuitive experience with Solana and Ethereum-based NFTs. Maddern’s and Brown’s hallmark is a passionate belief that they build the products and community that bring real value to Web3 and foster its global adoption. 

Abhishek Kumar, CEO, NeoFi

Abhishek Kumar takes on the CEO position at NeoFi, a brand new platform that empowers retail investors with secure and easy management of their long-term crypto portfolios. Being responsible for strategy and product development, Abhishek leverages his extensive expertise in building global projects to attract the next billion users to the blockchain space. Kumar’s previous experience includes working as a senior engineer at Oracle, a cloud tech company, and developing next-gen web applications as software engineer at Senseforth Technologies.

Shant Kevonian, CEO & CTO & Founder, EtherMail

Shant Kevonian is a tech-advanced entrepreneur who is incredibly versed in bringing early and medium-stage companies to mass-markets. Shant was previously recognized for his analytical, managerial, and technical skills across a number of C-level positions such as CTO of eco-conscious brands cang.eco and Youtiful.net. Now Kevonian combines the functions of CEO and CTO of EtherMail, a Web3 email solution ensuring fully anonymous P2P communication. Here, he is in charge of executing the company’s growth strategy and everyday operations.

Alexander Thomsen, Founder, Moonbit

Alexander Thomsen is the founder of Moonbit, a robo-advisory platform rocking the cryptocurrency investing arena. The startup aims to build intelligent portfolios that use on-chain, technical, statistical and macro data for optimizing risks and returns. Having invested himself in various digital assets since 2017, Alexander is well aware of how to create an excellent solution that will facilitate onboarding of Web2 users to crypto investing. So at Moonbit, Thomsen is dedicated to making investment management as stress-free as possible. 

Patrick and John Collison, Co-founders, Stripe

The Collison brothers, Patrick and John, are out to amplify the future of Stripe, a global payment provider that has recently introduced its fiat-to-crypto on-ramp. At his role of CEO, Patrick oversees engineering and fulfills representative functions, while John serves as the company’s president. They fleshed out the idea of Stripe when both studied at MIT and processed their first payment while vacationing together in South America. Today Stripe keeps growing exponentially, securing partnerships with tech giants like Meta.

Ilan Rakhmanov, Founder, ChainGPT

Ilan Rakhmanov is keen on developing cutting-edge technology solutions that transcend all imaginable boundaries. In late 2022, Ilan kicked off ChainGPT, a sophisticated AI model for the blockchain industry which is applicable in trading, risk management, and analytics. Rakhmanov is confident that strong collaboration determines success of any emerging project, so he brings together a high-end team to foster the rapid rise of ChainGPT and expand the opportunities of blockchain users and developers with a multitude of handy AI tools.

Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, Co-founders, Brex

Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi are Brazilian entrepreneurs who met each other through a Twitter discussion, being ahead of graduation from high school. As soon as in 2013, Dubugras and Franceschi built their debut payment startup called Pagar.me, before moving on to start Brex, the first-of-its-kind corporate card for startups, four years later. Since 2021, their Silicon Valley-based company enables its customers to convert Brex reward points into Bitcoin and Ether, ranking Henrique and Pedro among the most forward-looking blockchain adopters.

Maciej Baj, CTO & Founder, t3rn

Maciej Baj is an open-source developer involved in the blockchain ecosystem for 6 years. Over this time, his expertise has gradually shifted from sidechain development to building cross-chain bridging solutions. Seduced by the role of composability and reversibility from single ledger executions across Ethereum, Maciej launched t3rn to integrate these two utilities into the cross-chain environment. At his position as CTO, he also aligned rewards for open-source developers to their contributions, bringing unique dynamics to the t3rn ecosystem itself.

George Gor, CEO, Coin Idol

Former chief editor, acting CEO of Cointelegraph and versatile top manager, George Gor has cultivated nümerous thriving media stars, while also contributing to business development of projects in advertising, PR, marketing, education, government relations, and insurance. Today George is the CEO of Coin Idol, having successfully managed this prominent blockchain news outlet for over 7 years. Gor’s other accomplishment highlights building international teams dispersed across more than 20 countries worldwide, from the USA and Europe to Asia and Africa.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.