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

CoinDesk Reporters Discuss FinCEN Files, Venezuela's Stablecoin Flop and More

From the CoinDesk Global Macro news desk, this is Borderless - a twice-monthly roundup of the most important stories impacting Bitcoin and the crypto sector from around the world.

Venezuelan Bolivars and U.S. dollars.

Policy

Russian Ministry Wants Citizens to Report Their Crypto Wallet Details: Report

The Ministry of Finance is seeking amendments to the law that would force cryptocurrency users to report wallet balances and large transactions to the tax authorities.

Russian Ministry of Finance, Moscow

Markets

Eastern Europe Actively Using Crypto for Illicit Purposes: Chainalysis

A significant amount of cryptocurrency activities in the Eastern Europe is related to the dark market and ransomware, according to a Chainalysis report.

hacker

Policy

Belarus Nonprofit Helps Protestors With Bitcoin Grants

A non-profit by tech entrepreneurs in Belarus is using Bitcoin to help dissidents get around repression and financial monitoring.

Protest rally in Belarus, 2020 / Natallia Rak via Flickr

Markets

Ukraine Leads Global Crypto Adoption, Chainalysis Says in New Report

Ukraine, Russia and Venezuela are the top three countries by crypto adoption in the world, according to Chainalysis.

Map of Eastern European countries

Markets

Crypto Firm Bitsonar Had Signs of a ‘Deliberate Fraud’, Ex-Employee Claims in FBI Report

Former Bitsonar employee Yaroslav Shtadchenko has filed an FBI complaint accusing the crypto investment firm of operating like a pyramid scheme.

Yaroslav Shtadchenko was hired by Bitsonar in mid-2018 to consult on marketing and website development. (Yaroslav Shtadchenko)

Policy

Russia's Latest Draft Bill Would Still Largely Ban Crypto, Stifle Miners

Russia's Ministry of Finance wants to ban any cryptocurrency payments, which could be bad news for the country's mining farms.

House of the Government of the Russian Federation (Aksenov Petr/Shutterstock)

Policy

Russia's New Blockchain Voting System Isn't Ready, but It'll Be Used This Month Anyway

The solution will be used for remote voting during by-elections for seats in the national parliament on Sept. 13 in two regions.

russia

Policy

Bitsonar Whistleblower Says Law Enforcement Faked His Murder in Attempt to Protect Him

A whistleblower from defunct crypto firm Bitsonar has reappeared after going missing for three days, saying law enforcement faked his kidnapping and death.

The SSU detains the alleged contract killing buyer. (Screenshot/YouTube)