Meet the most promising crypto startups of 2022, according to investors

Insider asked VCs to choose the most promising crypto startups of the year, and they responded with 53 hot firms working in NFTs, DeFi, and more.

Wow, it's already Monday. If you've not already "quiet quit" your job, you've probably at least heard the term, and have likely read stories of people doing the absolute least (like Conan O'Brien's assistant, who quiet quit before it was "cool"). You can also listen to her story on The Refresh from Insider, available here. 

I'm your host, Jordan Parker Erb. Luckily for you, dear reader, I have not quiet quit, and I am here to bring you your morning dose of tech news. 

On the agenda today: The hottest crypto startups of 2022, and a conversation with the creator of Dogecoin.

Buckle up! 

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1. Introducing the most promising crypto startups of 2022. We asked top investors to name the startups — both in their portfolios and ones with which they had no financial ties — that they believe show the most promise. They responded with dozens of exciting picks.

• Though funding has slowed down thanks to a crypto winter, investors are continuing to back crypto-powered startups aiming to transform industries like finance and digital commerce.
• Among the buzziest firms they listed are those specializing in NFTs, decentralized finance, and tools for creating decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs.
• The startups they're watching include digital fashion and NFT marketplaces, crypto wallets, and sites for helping users learn about crypto and Web3 — and they're all poised to take off, according to investors. 

Meet the 53 most promising crypto startups of the year.

In other news:

2. Meet the union leaders powering a wave of organizing. Recently, a flurry of workers have won elections to form unions in industries that have never had them, including at more than 200 Starbucks stores and at Apple, Amazon, and more. Insider spoke with the people behind these efforts — here's what they told us.

3. What happened at Y Combinator's summer 2022 Demo Day? In the final opening remarks of his tenure as president, CEO Geoff Ralston emphasized that some of Y Combinator's largest success stories were founded in a downturn, and encouraged founders to stay resilient. Read the other key takeaways from Demo Day.

4. Elon Musk dreamt up a new way to get out of buying Twitter. In a letter to the company attempting to terminate the deal, Musk's lawyers argue that a $7.75 million payment to whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko is a new breach of the agreement. What we know so far.

5. Dogecoin's creator is now staunchly anti-crypto. In a conversation with Insider, the meme currency creator discussed his relationship with Elon Musk, his opinion on Mark Cuban and other major investors, and more. Here's everything he told us in the exclusive interview. 

6. Elon Musk's girlfriend from college shared photos of him in the 1990s. The photos — which his former girlfriend is auctioning off — show a 23-year-old Musk hiking, typing away at a computer, and studying. See the candid photos of Musk.

7. In a leaked memo, a Google exec laid out Verily's challenges and path forward. Andy Conrad, the visionary — and controversial — health care exec, said he would move to the role of executive chairman in 2023 to "chart a path toward our independence." Everything we learned from the leaked memo.

8. Tim Cook revealed his biggest dispute with Steve Jobs. Cook, Apple's CEO, said his biggest debate with Jobs was over the company's iPhone sales strategy ahead of its 2007 debut. Here's what the feud was about — and how it ended. 

Odds and ends:

9. A luxury RV maker says it created the world's first fully electric travel trailer. Trailer maker Bowlus just unveiled its latest build, the Volterra, which comes with heated floors and Starlink connectivity. Check out the $310,000 home on wheels.

10. We got an early look at Chevy's upcoming electric pickup truck. Coming in at $105,000, the electric Chevy Silverado promises nearly 700 horsepower, tons of driving range, and some impressive features. See inside the Ford Lightning's biggest rival.

What we're watching today:

• Oracle and others are reporting earnings. Keep up with earnings here.
• FinovateFall 2022 is happening today in New York. 
• NortonLifeLock and Avast merger is expected to complete today.
• Blue Origin is set to launch a NS-23 New Shepard rocket. 
• It's Tinder's 10th anniversary.

Thanks so much to our senior correspondent Ben Bergman for contributing to Friday's edition. (If you missed his dispatch from Code, read it here.) We're sorry about the typo in your name…. What can we say, it was a Friday.

Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.

Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.