How a Russian stablecoin drove a 400% surge in sanction-dodging crypto activity – DL News
- Crypto crime surged last year, with sanctions-related activity up 400% from 2024.
- The vast majority of sanctions-related volume was attributed to a new Russian stablecoin.
- Lawmakers in Russia have talked about using crypto for years.
Just a little over a year after its debut, Russian ruble-backed digital token A7A5 is one of the biggest stablecoins in existence.
And the token’s use in dodging sanctions is likely playing a part, according to a Wednesday report from blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.
“Sanctions-related activity in 2025 was overwhelmingly driven by Russia-linked flows, largely due to the rapid growth of the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5, which processed more than $72 billion in total volume,” the company said in its 2026…
