Anna Baydakova

Anna writes about blockchain projects and regulation with a special focus on Eastern Europe and Russia. She is especially excited about stories on privacy, cybercrime, sanctions policies and censorship resistance of decentralized technologies.
She graduated from the Saint Petersburg State University and the Higher School of Economics in Russia and got her Master's degree at Columbia Journalism School in New York City.
She joined CoinDesk after years of writing for various Russian media, including the leading political outlet Novaya Gazeta.
Anna owns BTC and an NFT of sentimental value.

Anna Baydakova

Latest from Anna Baydakova


Finance

Russia's Tinkoff Banking Group Buys Majority Stake in Swiss Crypto Startup Aximetria

The startup with Russian roots has been offering crypto trading services and debit cards.

TCS founder Oleg Tinkov (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Layer 2

The Mnuchin Files: New Documents Shed Light on Trump-Era Crypto Policy

Jared Kushner advocated behind the scenes for a U.S. digital currency, among other revelations in a 250-page trove from Steven Mnuchin’s tenure at Treasury.

Steven Mnuchin (Illustration: Melody Wang/Photo: Getty Images)

Finance

Binance Taps Former Government Officials for Russia, Ukraine Posts

Ex-Bank of Russia executive Olga Goncharova will head government relations in Russia, and Kyrylo Khomiakov from Ukraine’s Agency for Infrastructure Projects will lead the office there.

(Shutterstock, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Telegram CEO Endorses TON Blockchain Spin-Off Toncoin

For the first time since Telegram abandoned TON in 2020, CEO Pavel Durov has backed one of the competing spin-off projects.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov (TechCrunch)

Layer 2

Another Ethereum Education Initiative Hampered by Iran Sanctions Fears

Gitcoin’s suspension of a grant for a coding course in Farsi follows a similar move by ConsenSys.

(National Park Service)

Policy

Kazakhstan Piloting a CBDC on R3′s Corda Platform

The country’s central bank is expanding the pilot of a digital tenge and will decide if it wants to launch the token by the end of 2022.

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA - JULY 18:  Kazakhstan fans in the crowd show their support as Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia play Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan in the doubles during day two of the Davis Cup World Group quarterfinal tie between Australia and Kazakhstan at Marrara Sporting Complex on July 18, 2015 in Darwin, Australia.  (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Policy

Bank of Russia Bars Mutual Funds From Investing in Crypto

In a new directive, the regulator prohibited Russian mutual funds from directly or indirectly investing in crypto assets.

The Bank of Russia