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


Markets

Telegram Is Nearly Done Paying Back TON Investors, Eyes IPO Next

Telegram is closing the page of its $1.7 billion token sale and paying back its last debts to the token buyers. The company just raised more funding via bonds and planning an IPO.

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov

Markets

BitRiver Is Selling Tokens to Build More Bitcoin Mining Farms in Siberia

Mining company BitRiver is launching its own token, aiming to raise $35 million on Bithumb

(Anna Baydakova for CoinDesk)

Markets

Ukrainian Officials Backtrack on Crypto Wealth Claims as Feds Promise Probe: Report

Ukrainian public officials now say they actually don't own billions in crypto after the anti-corruption agency weighed in.

Verkhovna Rada building in Kyiv, Ukraine

Policy

Bank of Russia Plans Prototype for Its Digital Ruble Design in December

The digital ruble will live in a hybrid technological platform combining distributed ledger technology and centralized control by the central bank.

The Bank of Russia

Markets

Crypto 'Whale Watching' Could Become a Thing at Ukrainian Town Council Meetings

Ukrainian civil servants together own about 46,351 bitcoin, one-third of which is held by a single city council member, researchers found.

ukraine, europe

Markets

Abkhazia Bans Bitcoin Mining Shortly After Legalizing It

The troubled economy and extremely cheap electricity of Abkhazia attracted bitcoin mining, but now the government is cracking down.

Abkhazia is cracking down on crypto mining due to ongoing power shortages.

Markets

Fearing Being Cut Off From SWIFT, Russia Hints About Blockchain Alternative: Report

Russia's foreign affairs ministry believes SWIFT can be replaced by more advanced systems, mentioning blockchain.

Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow

Markets

Hackers Mined Crypto on GitHub's Servers: Report

The activity was first noticed in November, according to the report.

GitHub logo on a door at the company office in San Francisco

Markets

Former Senior Executive of Russia’s Largest Bank Leaves for Crypto Startup

Konstantin Shulga is taking on the CEO role at crypto marketplace Finery.

Konstantin Shulga / Courtesy of Konstantin Shulga