New Cryptocurrency Pegged to Russian Ruble is Gaining Traction, Say Experts

Paz Gomez, a cryptocurrency expert, says the A7A5 stablecoin is mainly traded through Uniswap, a decentralized exchange that is invulnerable to sanctions.

A vendor counts Russian rouble banknotes at a market in Omsk, Russia, on Feb. 18, 2022. Alexey Malgavko/Reuters

In January 2025, a company run by Moldovan billionaire Ilan Shor and Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank (PSB) launched A7A5, the world’s first ruble-pegged stablecoin.

By July 2025, blockchain research company Elliptic said funds moved through A7A5 had surged past the $40 billion mark, and earlier this month cryptocurrency news website CoinDesk said the figure had reached $90 billion, despite sanctions on both PSB and Shor’s payments firm A7 LLC.