- The European Union imposed sanctions on the Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 and crypto payment service Payeer, effective November 25, 2025.
- EU persons are banned from transactions involving A7A5 and from providing cryptoasset services to Russia-based clients.
- A7A5 facilitates sanctions evasion with over $1 billion moved daily and has significant liquidity and market activity.
- Payeer offers crypto services to Russian users, including links to sanctioned platforms and entities.
- Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic is providing updated tools to monitor and block transactions related to sanctioned addresses.
The Council of the European Union announced sanctions against the Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 and the crypto payment service provider Payeer on October 23, 2025. These measures respond to their involvement in activities that destabilize the situation in Ukraine and take effect on November 25, 2025.
EU citizens and entities are prohibited from making any direct or indirect transactions involving A7A5. They also cannot offer crypto services to individuals or organizations based in Russia. Virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and financial institutions within the EU are required to screen for exposure to A7A5 and related sanctioned actors and block associated funds.
The stablecoin A7A5 was launched in January 2025 by the already-sanctioned A7 group on the Tron and Ethereum blockchains. Issued through Kyrgyzstan-based Old Vector LLC for A7 LLC, it is linked to Moldovan fugitive Ilan Shor and Russia’s state bank, Promsvyazbank (PSB). Each token is claimed to be backed 1:1 by ruble deposits at PSB. The stablecoin serves as a tool to avoid freezes seen with other crypto assets and has become central to sanctions evasion.
By late July 2025, data indicates more than $1 billion moved daily through A7A5, with total transfers reaching $41.2 billion. Its market capitalization quickly rose to $521 million, while exchange volumes surpassed $8.5 billion across platforms like Grinex, Meer, and decentralized exchanges. To maintain liquidity, the issuer provided over $1.3 billion in USDT (a U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoin) in its own decentralized exchange and reportedly sent at least $2 billion worth of USDT to exchanges for market-making.
The payment platform Payeer, registered in Vanuatu but functioning primarily for Russian customers, will also face sanctions starting November 25. It has financial connections with sanctioned exchanges Granatex and Grinex and cooperates with Russia’s government-backed app store platform RuStore. In 2024, the Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service fined Payeer for enabling transactions in Russian rubles linked to EU-sanctioned banks and for providing cryptocurrency wallet services to Russian users.
Following the sanctions announcement, Payeer stated it will discontinue services for clients in Russia and the EU, allowing withdrawals until November 24, 2025.
Blockchain analytics company Elliptic continues to track the use of A7A5, sanctioned exchanges, and Payeer. They note that blockchain’s transparency helps trace illicit financial flows with precision. Elliptic has updated its tools to enable clients to detect and block transactions involving sanctioned addresses, helping prevent inadvertent processing of prohibited funds.
For additional information on the EU’s sanctions measures, see the official legal text and Payeer’s statement.
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