Despite U.S. sanctions, a Russia-controlled cryptocurrency network has conducted transactions totaling $6.1 billion through the stablecoin A7A5 since August 2025, according to the Financial Times (FT).
The A7A5 token is part of A7, a growing Russian cross-border payment infrastructure created as an alternative to the global financial system dominated by the U.S. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Russian banks were cut off from international transactions. A7A5 aims to fill that gap.
FT reports that after the Kyrgyz exchange Grinex and its issuer, Old Vector, were sanctioned, operators of A7A5 destroyed a large portion of the token supply. Over 80% of A7A5 tokens linked to the sanctioned entities were burned and reissued to bypass restrictions. Specifically, more than 33.8 billion tokens worth around $405 million tied to Grinex were removed from one wallet and recreated on another.
“Unlike a regular transfer, this method breaks the link between old and new wallets, making it harder to trace sanctioned assets,” FT noted.
The activity of the new wallet mirrors previous patterns: it interacted with 11 counterparties, primarily during Moscow working hours, with peak activity from 10:00 to 12:00 and minimal movement overnight or on weekends.
Additionally, A7A5 has obtained official recognition in Russia and is backed by the ruble through Promsvyazbank, a bank under sanctions that owns 49% of the A7 infrastructure.
Experts cited by FT suggest that A7 could now represent a significant portion of Russia’s cross-border payment market. Alongside cryptocurrencies, A7 also supports traditional instruments like bill payments.
For context, in March 2025, Tether froze $28 million on addresses linked to the Garantex team, illustrating ongoing scrutiny of Russian crypto operators.
