Dispute Arises Over Usage Claims of Russian Stablecoin A7A5

A7A5, a Russian stablecoin intended to bypass Western financial systems, claims it processes over $200 million in daily trading volume and has handled approximately $34.4 billion from January 1 to June 17 this year. The issuer, represented by Oleg Ogienko, asserts that much of this activity is within decentralized finance (DeFi), where users often remain anonymous and transact directly between crypto wallets rather than through centralized exchanges.

However, this assertion is met with skepticism from blockchain analytics firms such as TRM Labs and Elliptic. Chris Keegan, an analyst at TRM Labs, positions A7A5's real daily volume closer to $75 million, indicating a recent decline in transactions. He suggests that about 34% of the token's reported volume is from circular transactions that may falsely inflate activity. "We truly don’t think there is large-scale, authentic usage of A7A5 outside of A7," Keegan states.

Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic, supports this view, noting that monthly transaction volumes for A7A5 have plummeted by over 90% since January, marking a 96% drop from peak levels following sanctions imposed by Western nations and the collapse of the Russia-linked exchange Grinex earlier in the year. He states, "The cherry-picked trading and transaction figures provided by A7A5 are consistent with Elliptic’s analysis; however, they conceal the obvious trend: that A7A5 is failing in its goal of enabling Russian sanctions evasion."

Ogienko counters these claims by arguing that traditional data providers overlook the substantial activity in DeFi. He criticizes platforms like CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko for relying too heavily on data from centralized exchanges, stating, "These outdated principles and metrics do not provide users around the world with objective information about A7A5."

A7A5 is backed by deposits at Promsvyazbank, which itself is sanctioned, and was launched in Kyrgyzstan in early 2025 as part of Russia's strategy to evade Western sanctions. The stablecoin has faced added scrutiny due to links to sanctions violations, including the recent sanctioning of a British teenager who reported on its alleged use in financing military activities against Ukraine.

The ongoing dispute illustrates the challenges in accurately assessing trading volumes for cryptocurrencies designed to operate outside of conventional financial oversight. As A7A5 attempts to carve a niche within a Russia-centric financial system, its effectiveness and actual usage remain contentious topics among analysts.