Anna Baydakova

Investigative Reporter

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.

Latest from Anna Baydakova

Policy

Russia Seeks to Block 'Darknet' Technologies, Including Telegram's Blockchain

A Russian government agency has requested contractor bids to find ways to block censorship-resistant internet tech, including one blockchain: Telegram's.

Mar 11, 2020

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

Finance

Crypto Investment Fund Suffers Hack Exposing Data of 266,000 Users: Report

The personal data of about 266,000 people registered with the fund may have been exposed.

Mar 5, 2020

Finance

Russian Oligarch, Ex-Cabinet Minister Invested in Telegram's ICO, Court Filing Says

Roman Abramovich, owner of the Chelsea soccer club, invested $10 million in Telegram’s $1.7 billion token sale through a British Virgin Islands-based entity, court papers indicate.

Mar 4, 2020

CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY: Roman Abramovich, owner of the Chelsea soccer club, invested $10 million in Telegram’s token sale through a British Virgin Islands-based entity, court papers indicate. (Image: Shutterstock.)

Policy

Ukrainian Taxpayers Will Now Have to Report Crypto Holdings

Ukraine’s revenue agency has published guidance that says cryptocurrency holdings should be treated as intangible property on tax returns.

Mar 4, 2020

Billete de 1000 grivnas ucranianas (Shutterstock)

Policy

Ukraine Justice System Employee Caught Mining Crypto at Work

The IT staffer is alleged to have illegally mined cryptocurrency and run websites from court administration servers.

Feb 27, 2020

Ukraine supreme court. Credit: Shutterstock/Home for heroes

Policy

Bank of Canada Won't Issue Its Own Crypto Unless Libra Succeeds: Deputy Governor

The Bank of Canada does not see the need to create a central bank digital currency unless a competitor – like Libra – starts dethroning the existing fiat.

Feb 25, 2020

Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane said the central bank won't issue a central bank digital currency unless a private competitor takes off. (Image via YouTube)

Finance

Russian Smelting Giant Nornickel Launches Metal Tokenization Platform for Testing

The Russian mining and smelting giant will issue metal-backed tokens on Atomyze, a Hyperledger-based blockchain platform.

Feb 25, 2020

Policy

Central Bankers From Canada, Netherlands, Ukraine Call Blockchain Unnecessary for Digital Fiat

Central bank digital currencies have been a hot topic in blockchain circles recently, but central banks are lukewarm about blockchains.

Feb 24, 2020

Sveriges Riksbank is trying R3's Corda blockchain just to learn about the tech. "We need to get our hands dirty," explains Björn Segendorf, a senior advisor in the Swedish central bank's payments department. (Photo by Anna Baydakova for CoinDesk)

Policy

TON Developers, Investors Back Telegram in SEC Fight

A new organization composed of TON developers and investors has filed an amicus brief supporting Telegram in its fight against the SEC.

Feb 14, 2020

Policy

Ukraine Won't Regulate Crypto Mining, Government Ministry Says

In a new manifesto, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation has indicated it won't be creating regulations for the crypto mining sector.

Feb 10, 2020

Pageof 70