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

Crypto Exchange Offers Credit Lines so Institutions Can Trade Now, Pay Later

LGO Markets is taking an unusual step for a cryptocurrency exchange by letting clients trade without pre-funding accounts.

Hugo Renaudin, CEO of LGO Markets. (Anna Baydakova/CoinDesk)

Policy

Blockchain Association Tries to Draw Legal Line Between Kik's Token and Its 2017 Pre-Sale

The Blockchain Association is claiming that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is wrongfully conflating Kik's exempt offering of securities during a 2017 ICO with the issuance of kin tokens

Kik CEO Ted Livingston (Credit: CoinDesk archives)

Policy

Russians Troll Government COVID-19 App With 1-Star Ratings, Harsh Reviews

The Russian government released an app to track citizens during the coronavirus pandemic. Privacy advocates are leaving bad reviews in the app stores.

BEFORE THE 'CYBER GULAG': A young woman in Moscow wearing a medical mask on March 25, four days before the city imposed a lockdown. People wanting to leave their homes now need electronic permission. (Credit: Shutterstock)

Finance

Exchange Banking on TON's Gram Tokens to Shut Down After Telegram Court Order

Blackmoon Crypto, a small exchange hoping to grow its clientele by becoming the first to list Telegram's tokens, is shutting down just weeks after a judge barred any token issuance.

Credit: Shutterstock

Markets

Making Sense of the SEC's Case Against Telegram

Telegram lost another round in court against the SEC and now can’t launch its $1.7 billion token sale. What does it mean for the crypto industry and other startups that sold tokens?

Telegram mobile app

Policy

Telegram's Fight Against SEC Will Help Push Cryptocurrency Legislation, Says Trade Group

Telegram’s ongoing court battle with the SEC over its $1.7 billion token offering could put pressure on Congress to move cryptocurrency regulation forward, according to the Blockchain Association.

shutterstock_1018169170

Finance

CEO Says BlockFi Is Lending to Crypto Miners as Other Providers Pull Back

Crypto lending platform BlockFi has begun extending credit to miners as competition for their business has eased during the coronavirus crisis.

BlockFi CEO Zac Prince

Finance

Kraken Hires Lawyer Marco Santori to Ramp Up Acquisitions

Marco Santori, who helped write the SAFT framework, is leaving Blockchain.com to helm Kraken's expanding legal team.

Seema Mody, Jose Pagliery, Marco Santori and Maria Vullo. (Credit:  CoinDesk)

Tech

P2P Exchange Hodl Hodl Takes First Step in Bringing Private Bitcoin Trades to BlueWallet Users

Users of the BlueWallet app can now view available trades on Hodl Hodl, with trading coming soon.

Igor Korsakov, co-founder of BlueWallet

Policy

Judge Denies Telegram's Request to Issue Gram Tokens to Non-US Investors

A federal judge denied Telegram's request to issue Gram tokens to non-U.S. investors.

The Southern District of New York's courthouse (elbud / Shutterstock)