A ruble-backed stablecoin linked to Russian financial networks processed more than $100 billion in on-chain transactions in less than a year before international sanctions significantly curtailed its operations, according to a detailed report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The stablecoin, A7A5, was launched in January 2025 by A7 LLC, a Russian company focused on cross-border payment services for businesses affected by Western financial restrictions.
Major shareholders include sanctioned figures Ilan Shor and the Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank (PSB). The token is formally issued through Old Vector LLC, a Kyrgyzstan-registered entity, with a stated 1:1 backing in ruble deposits held at PSB. It operates on both the Ethereum and TRON blockchains.
Elliptic's analysis identified roughly 250,000 transactions originating from more than 41,300 distinct addresses, with around 35,500 accounts currently holding balances. The report highlights the token's primary function as a bridge between rubles and Tether (USDT), allowing value to flow into dollar-denominated markets while minimizing exposure to USDT-linked wallets vulnerable to Western freezes. This swap channel processed an estimated $17.3 billion in value.
Activity was concentrated on specific infrastructure, including the Kyrgyzstan-based centralized exchanges Grinex and Meer, as well as a project-linked DEX. At its peak in July 2025, the issuer injected up to $150 million per day in USDT liquidity into the DEX, but by November, that figure had collapsed to about $0.5 million per week.
Sanctions imposed by the United States in August 2025 and the European Union in October 2025, followed by Uniswap adding the token to its blocklist in November, led to a dramatic decline in activity. Daily volume dropped from peaks above $1.5 billion to levels near $500 million. No significant new token issuances have been recorded since late July 2025.
Despite the restrictions, the project expanded services to include PSB card purchases (totaling $26M), Stablepay, and token-backed digital promissory notes (2,300 redemptions worth $8.6M). Approximately 42.5 billion A7A5 tokens remain in circulation, valued at around $547 million. The stablecoin continues to operate under an increasingly restrictive regulatory environment, with its architecture—featuring centralized issuer control over freezing assets—leading to isolation within the broader DeFi ecosystem.
