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

Coinbase CEO Suggests Exchange Won't Censor Transactions on Ethereum

Brian Armstrong expressed his preference not to censor transactions to and from sanctioned addresses after the blockchain's transition to proof-of-stake.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (CoinDesk)

Policy

Binance Among Crypto Exchanges Blocked as Uzbekistan Clamps Down

FTX and Huobi are also inaccessible as the authorities restrict access to unlicensed centralized trading platforms.

Samarkand, Uzbekistan (Harvey Meston/Archive Photos via Getty Images)

Finance

BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik Has Been Extradited to the US

The news comes weeks after U.S. authorities called off their previous extradition request, thereby paving the way for Vinnik to be brought to the U.S.

Alexander Vinnik (Shutterstock)

Finance

DeFi Has Become Crypto Crime’s Main Arena, Crystal Blockchain Says

Hackers and scammers have shifted from breaching centralizing entities to exploiting decentralized projects, according to a new report.

Crypto criminals are increasingly targeting DeFi protocols. (Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock)

Finance

US Calls Off Extradition Request for BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik

U.S. authorities still want to try Vinnik, but his lawyer said they carried out a legal maneuver to keep him in prison longer and eventually get him to the U.S.

Alexander Vinnik (Shutterstock)

Layer 2

Russian Activists Turn to Crypto for Donations to Aid Ukraine Refugees

“For Russian citizens, sending money to help Ukrainians might not be safe” through the banking system, says one volunteer.

Refugees fleeing Ukraine since the Russian invasion (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)