A ruble stablecoin outpaced market leaders last year despite international sanctions

Core Insights - A ruble-denominated stablecoin, A7A5, has significantly increased its circulating supply by almost $90 billion, surpassing major dollar-pegged tokens despite the sanctions on its backers [1] - A7A5 was launched in January 2025 by A7 LLC, which is associated with Russia's state-owned Promsvyazbank and businessman Ilan Shor, who has a history of legal issues [1] - The stablecoin is utilized for cross-border payments by Russian users facing banking restrictions and provides access to USDT liquidity through decentralized finance protocols [1] Group 1 - A7A5's circulating supply growth contrasts with USDT and USDC, which added $49 billion and $31 billion respectively [2] - The ruble has appreciated over 40% against the dollar this year, attributed to capital controls and central bank interventions, making it one of the top-performing currencies globally [3] - A7A5 was a sponsor at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, as local sanctions on Russia do not apply to non-licensed entities [3] Group 2 - A7A5 is not listed on any centralized exchanges and is exclusively traded on Uniswap [4]