The ruble‑pegged stablecoin A7A5 has rapidly become one of the fastest‑growing digital assets, expanding its supply and transaction volumes more quickly than many leading dollar‑backed stablecoins, even as it faces tightening Western sanctions.

Launched in early 2025, A7A5 is issued by Kyrgyzstan‑based Old Vector LLC and backed by deposits at Russia’s state‑owned Promsvyazbank (PSB), a bank already under US sanctions for its role in financing the Russian defense sector.

Explosive Growth and On-Chain Activity

A7A5 is designed as a ruble‑backed stablecoin that operates on both the Ethereum and Tron blockchains, enabling Russian users and their partners to move value outside the traditional banking system.

By mid‑2025, on‑chain data showed that A7A5 was processing around 1 billion US dollars in daily transfers, with cumulative transaction volumes reaching tens of billions of dollars and market capitalization climbing into the hundreds of millions.

Trading Through Decentralized Platforms

Unlike mainstream stablecoins that rely heavily on centralized exchanges, A7A5 has focused on decentralized infrastructure, with significant liquidity on platforms operating on Ethereum and Tron, where it can be swapped against rubles and USDT.

On its associated decentralized exchange and other venues, daily volumes in A7A5–USDT pairs have reached hundreds of millions of dollars, making the token an increasingly effective tool for cross‑border payments outside conventional compliance controls.

Sanctions and International Response

Promsvyazbank, which holds the ruble reserves backing A7A5, was sanctioned by the US in 2022 for supporting Russia’s military‑industrial complex, and has since become a central node in alternative payment schemes.

In 2025, the US, UK, and EU expanded their sanctions to directly target Old Vector, A7 LLC, the A7A5 stablecoin itself, and related infrastructure, prohibiting their financial institutions and citizens from engaging in transactions involving the token.

The EU’s sanctions package introduced a full transaction ban on A7A5 within the bloc and marked the first time the union formally listed a specific cryptocurrency as part of its Russia‑related restrictive measures.

Geopolitics, Risk and Compliance

Investigations by blockchain analytics firms have linked A7A5 and its ecosystem to broader Russian sanctions‑evasion efforts, including activity involving exchanges such as Grinex and actors tied to earlier illicit finance cases.

Regulators and compliance teams now view A7A5 as a high‑risk asset, stressing the importance of screening wallets and transactions associated with the stablecoin to avoid indirect exposure to sanctioned entities.