The Russian stablecoin A7A5 surpasses $100 billion despite sanctions

Source: CritpoTendencia Original Title: Russian stablecoin A7A5 surpasses $100 billion despite sanctions Original Link: The A7A5 stablecoin, designed to facilitate Russian cross-border trade and circumvent international sanctions, reached a significant milestone in less than a year since its launch by surpassing $100 billion in transaction volume.

This token, issued by Old Vector LLC and backed 1:1 by rubles deposited in Promsvyazbank (PSB), grew rapidly and positioned itself as a key bridge asset between rubles and USDT within alternative financial circuits.

A bridge between rubles and USDT

Since its launch in January 2025, A7A5 has recorded nearly 250,000 transactions carried out by over 41,000 unique accounts, quickly establishing its presence in the market.

Activity was mainly concentrated in the A7A5/ruble and A7A5/USDT pairs, with notable volume on platforms based in Kyrgyzstan, such as Grinex and Meer, as well as on its own decentralized exchange.

This initial growth was partly driven by the possibility of acquiring the token via Promsvyazbank cards and through services like Stablepay, which facilitated international payments and the issuance of digital promissory notes exchangeable in different countries.

However, from mid-2025 onwards, a significant decline was observed in both DEX liquidity and total trading volume, a setback attributed to increasing restrictions on USDT access and reduced liquidity provision by the issuer.

The impact of sanctions on A7A5

According to a recent analysis by Elliptic, the growth of A7A5 did not go unnoticed by regulators and sanctioning bodies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, which intensified scrutiny over its use and circulation.

As part of these actions, the stablecoin was added to Uniswap’s blacklist in November 2025, while major exchange platforms began tracking and freezing funds linked to the token.

This regulatory tightening had a direct impact on market activity, with daily trading volume dropping from approximately $1.5 billion to $500 million, reflecting the tangible effect of the sanctions.

Meanwhile, the issuance of new tokens has been halted since July 2025, and users have reported increasing difficulties in using services associated with A7A5, especially outside the Russian financial ecosystem.

The future of non-dollar stablecoins

In this context, A7A5 emerges as an illustrative case of how a stablecoin backed by a currency other than the dollar can rapidly scale in environments conditioned by international sanctions.

However, the increase in regulatory controls and the progressive isolation of these tools show that international regulatory compliance can hinder their integration into the global ecosystem.

Thus, while A7A5 proved to be functional for Russian cross-border trade, its current situation clearly exposes the structural tension between financial innovation and regulatory demands that today shape the development of the digital assets market.