The ruble stablecoin A7A5, launched in February 2025, has captured about 43% of the non-dollar stablecoin market in just one year. According to analysts, its share may now be even higher.
The project was initially created as a payment tool for Russian companies with limited access to the international SWIFT system. The main activity of the token is concentrated in the Tron network, which accounts for up to 99% of all transactions.
Transaction volumes turned out to be comparable to the largest crypto projects. According to Elliptic, more than one hundred billion dollars passed through A7A5 in less than a year. Chainalysis estimates the figure at approximately ninety-three billion dollars. In some periods, the daily turnover reached one and a half billion dollars.
At the same time, the structure of the project remains a subject of discussion. A controlling stake in A7 LLC belongs to Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, previously convicted in a banking fraud case. The remaining share is associated with Promsvyazbank. The legal issuer is a company registered in Kyrgyzstan.
Against this background, the token came under sanctions. Restrictions were imposed by the UK, the US and the European Union, with the EU including a specific crypto asset in the sanctions list for the first time.
Despite this, A7A5 continues to be actively used. According to Chainalysis, about seventy-two billion dollars of sanctioned crypto flows in 2025 were associated with this token, which is about 78% of the total volume.
At the same time, A7A5 also does not have a clear legal status within Russia, since legislation on stablecoins has not yet been adopted. Thus, the asset is effectively outside the regulated framework.
The main turnover is concentrated on the Grinex platform, as well as in offline exchange operations. At the same time, the token has already been blocked on major decentralized exchanges, including Uniswap.
A7A5 has become a rare example of an asset that, despite sanctions and legal uncertainty, has been able to quickly gain a significant market share and maintain high activity.