Leila Ismailova began her professional career at the age of 15 as a broadcasting star in Belarus, the Russian-neighboring Eastern European country that plays home to 9.3 million citizens. She continued in the role for 10 years, she says, before reaching what she felt was a “professional ceiling” and beginning a journey that led to Web3.
“I remember my audacity as a child, just sneaking into the buildings with newspapers and magazines — it was called the House of Press,” Ismailova recalls in an interview with Cointelegraph. “I would handwrite my stories and sneak into the building — because I didn’t have a pass — by making up stories that I was someone’s granddaughter, or by just going in when someone else entered. And I would find the doors that said ‘editor’ or ‘editor-in-chief,’ and I would just walk in and give them my articles. People smiled, and I’m sure they felt I was naive, but I felt they also had some respect for me doing this work.”
Her renegade news career led to television in a matter of years. She joined the country’s First National Channel at the age of 15, where she started on a show that covered news and culture for younger viewers.
“My first audition went horribly,” Ismailova says. “I turned purple. I was thinking really fast, but they still wanted me to come for the second round.”
Ismailova moved to the United States in 2016, setting off what she calls a “season of migration” for her family, including her brother, Bahram, and sister, Esmira. Bahram is a serial tech entrepreneur whose inventions include Peech App and Yope, among many others, while Esmira is an author whose published works include On the Shores of Bosphorus. (You won’t find it in English yet, so don’t spend too much time scouring Amazon.)
Leila Ismailova hosting the International Music Festival Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk, Belarus, 2014. Source: Screenshot
Ismailova’s and her siblings’ success came despite hardship. Their father died when they were children (Bahram was just 1), fighting for Azerbaijan in the country’s war with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“It happened very abruptly,” Ismailova says. “Of course, no one planned for it, so we went very fast from being a well-off family living in the capital of Baku to being a very scared family. We were pretty much on our own in a country that was going through the war with Armenia and, on top of that, separating from the Soviet Union. It was a very harsh time for everybody.”
Ismailova says that experience inspired her to launch a charity during her broadcast career that offered mentoring for orphans, an activity she would like to resume in the future.
“It seemed like these girls, even though the government provided very simple basics for them to start life, didn’t have parental guidance,” Ismailova recalls. “It seemed like a lot of orphan girls were insecure because no one told them they were beautiful. Our goal was to create that guidance and to give them a confidence boost. […] For me, it was very important to do, and I was so lucky that I had a chance and a bit of influence. Right now, I miss it very much.”
Today, she’s a Web3 veteran after spending three years at Artisant, a digital fashion brand she co-founded — inspired, in part, by her career in journalism. “As a child, I didn’t have access to a lot of beautiful dresses,” Ismailova says. “But I always appreciated the elegant and beautiful part of fashion, and when I watched TV, I always saw TV hosts and red carpets. It always looked stunning.”
Ismailova left Artisant in July to launch a new chapter of her career as a consultant for digital-savvy fashion brands. “I’m sort of coming back to reality,” Ismailova explains. “Artisant was a digital fashion brand, but there was no physical product.”
1. You moved from Belarus, where you were a TV journalist, to the United States. What’s the story behind that?
I’m the only one from my family who moved, at first. I opened the “season of migration” for my family, as right after I moved, my sister moved, and then my brother. He didn’t just move — he ran away in August 2020, right after the Belarusian presidential election, when they started hunting people down. He had to run. His two co-founders were arrested.
Leila Ismailova with co-host Denis Kuryan in 2014. Source: Screenshot
My personal story is that I was a pretty successful TV host back home, I started when I was 15. I wanted to be a TV host because I wanted to wear beautiful dresses. I was very happy. It was my dream job! I started working early, and I think I was very hungry for success. I got all the national awards I dreamed of at a very young age, hosted all the shows I wanted to, and reached the professional ceiling back home.
2. What got you into crypto?
Well, my first stop in the United States was California — this was before I moved to Miami. I got into graduate school for a master’s program at USC Annenberg. (To be honest, I’m still struggling to connect to American society.) I’ve always been a nerd, and school seemed like a safe environment to connect to people. I started learning about entrepreneurship during the first wave of crypto in 2017, and then I invested in my first crypto… and “lost” it. I bought Litecoin at $250. But I started working in crypto only in 2020.
3. What brought you to Miami?
I felt very limited in Los Angeles with the COVID-19 restrictions, and very isolated. I couldn’t even walk my dog because they closed the parks. So, I got into digital fashion. It got me very curious about how something that didn’t exist could make someone feel so good. That was when I met my Artisant co-founder, Regina [Turbina], in 2020. We were talking, and I started helping with little things. In 2021, I joined Artisant full-time.
Things were flowing, so I quit my job and took a leap of faith — which brought me to Miami. And since I joined crypto, never have I met so many bright, prominent people with open minds. Everyone has been very welcoming, even though I knew far less in the beginning than I know now. People were willing to spend hours on the phone with me, sharing knowledge. I think the welcoming environment encouraged me to stay.
4. How do you see digital fashion evolving over the next five years?
Looking at the last bull run, I think it was awesome, but it’s over. We have this romantic notion that we’re all moving to the metaverse, and our avatars will all need clothes someday. I want to see technology become a tool that makes people more well-rounded, sustainable — wholesome.
We have this vicious circle in the Western world of buying goods we don’t need. Brands manipulate us into buying things. Consequently, we need to produce more goods, and we have this vicious circle of overproduction and overconsumption. We have a situation where fashion, the most beautiful business in the world, is responsible for 10% of carbon emissions.
We have a huge problem at hand, and I see digital fashion and technology as a possible solution. We’re moving from the notion of building digital clothes for the metaverse to looking at how digital fashion can be useful right now. Look at Dior and their B33 sneaker collection with NFC chips built into the sole. It’s an amazing technology that allows you to link them to digital assets. So, this is a very good way for brands to solve the problem of counterfeit products.
5. You recently left Artisant. Where are you going next?
I’m starting consulting jobs, and I want to start writing more. For now, I want to focus on companies that deal in digital fashion. Companies that provide digital fashion services as an agency. I have a brand that wants me to consult their team, and they do an amazing clothing line that has augmented reality storytelling built into it. I’m sort of coming back to reality. Artisant was a digital fashion brand — but there was no physical product.
Seeing Artisant grow — not just in numbers but in real people who defined Artisant as their community — meant the whole world to me. But I came to a point where I gave everything I could to the project. Technology has a huge mission in reforming the world of fashion, and I want to contribute. While I am still pondering my next big professional adventure, I know it will be fun and will serve humanity.
6. What’s your life like outside of crypto?
I love having a balanced life. I have a dog. (That’s a hobby, right?) I play chess. For me, chess is a very important game that helps me a lot in business and in analyzing situations. I also like sports. For me, it’s very important to keep moving. Yoga has been part of my life for quite some time. Since I live in Miami, I do things like paddleboarding and kite surfing. And I take dance classes. That was one of my first dreams, actually — to become a dancer.
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Rudy Takala
Rudy Takala is the opinion editor at Cointelegraph. He formerly worked as an editor or reporter in newsrooms that include Fox News, The Hill and the Washington Examiner. He holds a master’s degree in political communication from American University in Washington, DC.
An appellate court has granted a joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pause an appeal in a 2020 SEC case against Ripple amid settlement negotiations.
In an April 16 filing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court approved a joint SEC-Ripple motion to hold the appeal in abeyance — temporarily pausing the case — for 60 days. As part of the order, the SEC is expected to file a status report by June 15.
April 16 order approving a motion to hold an appeal in abeyance. Source: PACER
The SEC’s case against Ripple and its executives, filed in December 2020, was expected to begin winding down after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the commission would be dropping its appeal against the blockchain firm. A federal court found Ripple liable for $125 million in an August ruling, resulting in both the SEC and blockchain firm filing an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively.
However, once US President Donald Trump took office and leadership of the SEC moved from former chair Gary Gensler to acting chair Mark Uyeda, the commission began dropping multiple enforcement cases against crypto firms in a seeming political shift. Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended events supporting the US president.
Despite support for the end of the case coming from both Ripple and the SEC, the August 2024 judgment and appellate cases leave some legal entanglements. Alderoty said in March that Ripple would drop its cross-appeal with the SEC and receive a roughly $75 million refund from the lower court judgment. It’s unclear what else may result from negotiations over a settlement in appellate court.
New leadership at SEC incoming
Acting chair Uyeda is expected to step down following the US Senate confirming Paul Atkins as SEC chair on April 9.
During his confirmation hearings, lawmakers questioned Atkins about his ties to crypto, which could create conflicts of interest in his role regulating the industry. In financial disclosures, Atkins stated he had millions of dollars in assets through stakes in crypto firms, including Securitize, Pontoro and Patomak.
Italy’s minister of economy and finance warned that US stablecoin policies are more concerning than President Donald Trump’s tariffs, citing the potential for these crypto assets to undermine the euro’s dominance in cross-border payments.
Speaking at an event in Milan, Giancarlo Giorgetti said that while trade tariffs dominate headlines, new US policies on dollar-backed stablecoins present an “even more dangerous” threat to European financial stability, according to a Reuters report.
US stablecoins allow users to invest in a widely accepted method for cross-border payments without opening a US bank account, Giorgetti said. He warned that the growing appeal of US stablecoins to Europeans should not be underestimated.
Giorgetti urged European Union lawmakers to take more steps to boost the euro’s position as an international currency. He added that the digital euro under development by the European Central Bank (ECB) will be essential to minimize the need for Europeans to resort to foreign solutions.
US lawmakers advance stablecoin bills
Presently, stablecoin regulation in the US remains fragmented. Instead of a unified framework, multiple agencies apply existing laws to regulate stablecoins. However, lawmakers are working to implement changes, with several pieces of stablecoin legislation progressing.
On April 2, the US House Financial Services Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. The bill is now headed to the House floor for a full vote.
The bill was introduced on Feb. 6 by Committee Chair French Hill and the Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Bryan Steil. It would ensure that stablecoin issuers provide information on their businesses, including how their tokens are backed.
In addition, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act establishes rules that require issuers to maintain reserves backed one-to-one, comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, protect consumers and boost dollar dominance in the global economy.
The GENIUS Act still requires approval by both chambers of Congress and a presidential signature before becoming law.
Apart from Giorgetti, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone also urged European lawmakers to intensify their efforts to combat dollar-backed stablecoin dominance in Europe. On April 8, Cipollone wrote an article expressing concerns about the growing popularity of US stablecoins.
The official suggested launching a central bank digital currency to combat this threat to the euro. He said this would aid in preserving the monetary sovereignty of the eurozone.
Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced that it is reentering the US market.
According to an April 16 blog post, OKX will return to the United States market along with the appointment of former Barclays director Roshan Robert as its US CEO. Robert said in the post:
“Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of OKX’s centralized crypto exchange and OKX Wallet in the United States, alongside the establishment of our regional headquarters in San Jose, California.“
All existing Okcoin users will be migrated to the new platform, which Robert said will lead to a better overall experience. The promised improvements include deeper liquidity, lower fees and advanced trading tools.
OKX will not roll out the upgrade in one shot. Instead, the new platform will take a phased approach to onboard new customers. The exchange plans to follow the cautious approach with a nationwide launch later in 2025.
“We’re beginning with a phased rollout for new customers to ensure a smooth and secure onboarding process, with a broader nationwide launch planned later this year,“ Robert said.
OKX also promised integrations with local banks and support for major assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC). Robert noted that the company maintains a global proof of reserves for all its assets, which is published monthly by cybersecurity firm Hacken.
Hacken had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication time.
In addition to its trading platform, the firm is also rolling out OKX Wallet to its US-based customers. The wallet supports 130 blockchains and features a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, allowing access to over 10 million tokens on platforms including Ethereum, Solana and Base.
The exchange admitted on Feb. 24 to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws. As a consequence, OKX agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from primarily institutional clients.
After the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the problems revealed by the federal probe and improve its compliance efforts. OKX’s CEO Star Xu wrote in a Feb. 24 X post:
“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies.”
OKX had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication time