Ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 used for sanctions evasion, report finds

The Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 has surpassed $100 billion in trading volume in less than a year since its launch and is being used to bypass economic sanctions, CoinDesk reported, citing a report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The report noted that A7A5, issued on the Ethereum (ETH) and Tron (TRX) networks, is used by approximately 41,000 addresses. It functions as a bridge between the ruble and Tether, having processed $17.3 billion in swap transactions to date. However, its daily trading volume has recently plummeted following the strengthening of infrastructure sanctions in mid-2023. The report also explained that the stablecoin is becoming isolated within the crypto ecosystem because only its issuer has the authority to block addresses.