Sanctioned Russian Stablecoin A7A5 Under Fire for Misrepresenting Trading Volumes

A7A5, a Russian ruble-backed stablecoin designed to bypass Western financial channels, is at the center of a dispute over its actual usage. According to A7A5's director for regulatory affairs, Oleg Ogienko, the token averages $205 million in daily trading volume and has processed $34.4 billion between January 1 and June 17 this year.

However, blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Elliptic disagree with these claims. Chris Keegan from TRM Labs said their analysis places A7A5's average daily volume closer to $75 million, with activity declining in recent months. He also claimed that about 34% of observed transaction volume appears to consist of circular fund movements that artificially inflate activity.

Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic, added that monthly transaction volumes have fallen by more than 90% since January and are down 96% from their peak last year. A7A5's Ogienko denied these claims, stating that the token's activity mostly takes place in decentralized finance (DeFi), which is not fully captured by major crypto data sites.