The ruble stablecoin A7A5 has become the most popular alternative to USDT and USDC among Russian cryptocurrency users. This data is presented in the study "Russian Cryptocurrency Market 2026", which was conducted among a thousand participants of the crypto market from Russia and Russian-speaking countries abroad. According to the survey, 53.7% of respondents named A7A5 as the main replacement for dollar stablecoins. According to the authors of the study, A7A5 currently accounts for about 41% of the non-dollar stablecoin market in Russia – approximately $550 million. For comparison, its closest competitor EURC occupies about 32%.
The study shows that the Russian crypto market increasingly consists of experienced users. More than 73% of respondents have held cryptocurrency for over three years and have already experienced several major market cycles, including the 2022 crash. Almost half of the audience rates their knowledge as high or expert. At the same time, cryptocurrencies account for a significant part of users' capital: more than half of participants hold over 30% of their funds in digital assets, and almost a quarter hold from 75% to 100% of their portfolio.
The most popular use cases remain trading, investments, and savings. 17.3% of survey participants use cryptocurrency for international transfers, and another part of the audience considers digital assets as a tool for financial anonymity. Among traders, Bybit leads – 36.9% of active market participants use the platform. Most of them work with margin and futures trading, and more than half make daily transactions.
The authors of the study also note a growing interest in self-custody of cryptocurrency. Almost 56% of users prefer non-custodial wallets like Trust Wallet, MetaMask, or hardware solutions, while about 39% continue to store assets on centralized exchanges. In addition, more than half of respondents use AML checks to analyze the origin of funds and counterparties.
In late April, it became known that A7A5's annual turnover exceeded 7.5 trillion rubles. The company attributes the growth to the integration of the stablecoin into DeFi services and access to global liquidity.
