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A new Russian ruble-backed stablecoin, A7A5, has reportedly facilitated billions in transactions, raising concerns about its role in shadow payments and its alleged links to sanctioned entities. Launched in Kyrgyzstan, A7A5 is primarily traded on Grinex, an exchange widely believed to be the successor to the sanctioned Russian platform Garantex, despite Grinex's denials.
Ruble Stablecoin A7A5 Fuels Shadow Payments
A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin, has reportedly moved over $9.3 billion in transactions through Grinex since its launch in February. This significant volume, concentrated among a small number of wallets, suggests its use in large-scale, potentially illicit, financial flows.
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High Transaction Volume: Over $9.3 billion in A7A5 transactions have been recorded on Grinex within four months.
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Concentrated Activity: These transactions originated from only 124 wallets, indicating a limited number of actors or services are utilizing the token.
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Potential for Internal Processes: Analysts suggest a large portion of these flows may be part of internal banking processes, obscuring the true value of the transactions.
Grinex: The Successor to Sanctioned Garantex?
Grinex, a crypto exchange launched in Kyrgyzstan, is widely suspected to be the direct successor to Garantex, a Russian exchange sanctioned for alleged money laundering. Despite Grinex's denials, evidence suggests a strong connection.
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Fund Transfers: Global Ledger, a blockchain analytics firm, claims Garantex shifted over $60 million in A7A5 to Grinex, with on-chain data supporting this link.
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Customer Migration: Garantex users with outstanding balances were reportedly able to credit these to new Grinex accounts.
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Denials and Opportunities: Grinex denies direct links, stating it capitalized on market opportunities after Garantex's closure and acquired a portion of its "non-toxic customer base."
A7A5's Controversial Backing and Connections
A7A5 claims to be 1:1 backed by ruble deposits at Promsvyazbank, a Russian institution sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU due to its involvement in Russia's defense sector. Furthermore, the stablecoin has been linked to a sanctioned Moldovan political figure.
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Sanctioned Bank Backing: A7A5's claimed backing by Promsvyazbank raises concerns due to the bank's sanctioned status.
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Ilan Shor Connection: The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) suggests A7A5 may be connected to Ilan Shor, a Moldovan businessman and politician convicted of fraud and subject to sanctions. Although A7A5 claimed to cut ties with Shor's related project, Shor promoted A7A5 at a recent economic forum.
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Market Capitalization: A7A5 has a market capitalization of approximately $151 million with around 12 million issued tokens and 24,000 holders, primarily listed on Uniswap.
Sources
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Ruble Stablecoin A7A5 Linked To Garantex’ Next Incarnation, Cointelegraph.
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Subscribe to read, Financial Times.
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Sanctioned crypto exchange Garantex shifts millions as it reboots platform, Cointelegraph.
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Russian ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 moves $9.3B in four months: report, Crypto News.
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