A7A5’s appearance at TOKEN2049 has caused a stir, with organisers rushing to scrub any association with the ruble-backed stablecoin. This was after Reuters reported that the company behind the cryptocurrency was among the sponsors of the event.
Billed as the largest crypto event in the world, this year’s TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore drew over 25,000 attendees and over 500 exhibitors. Speakers included Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, and Binance CEO Richard Teng. The list also included US President Donald Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr, who are the co-founders of World Liberty Financial.
With so many industry elites involved with the event, it’s surprising A7A5 was able to participate as a platinum sponsor. Just a few months ago, the US and the UK sanctioned the company behind the stablecoin 5, accusing it of being used by the Kremlin to bypass Western sanctions.
What is A7A5?
A7A5 is a Kyrgyzstan-based stablecoin that is pegged to the Russian ruble. It was launched in January by Putin’s ally Ilan Shor and Promsvyazbank, a Russian defence lender. The stablecoin is issued by Old Vector LLC and has surpassed $70 billion in transactions since its launch. Currently, A7A5 has a $490 million market cap, making it the largest non-dollar stablecoin in the world.
According to Old Vector, A7A5 was created to help make cross-border payments and remittances between Russia and Central Asia much easier. However, Western regulators paint a different picture.
In August 2025, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Old Vector, its affiliates, and A7A5 itself. OFAC cited links to Russian bank Promsvyazbank (PSB) and stated that the sanctions were part of existing Russian sanctions for the Kremlin’s role in the Ukraine war.
TOKEN2049’s Compliance Dilemma
Although TOKEN2049 was quick to end its association with A7A5 after the news broke, by then, it was already too late. Questions are already being asked about how such a serious oversight was allowed to happen in the first place.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has sanctioned Promsvyazbank and prohibits dealings with the bank and its affiliates. But MAS said that the organisers didn’t violate the sanctions, since the rules only apply to regulated financial institutions and not private event companies. Still, the optics were damaging and may cause many companies to hesitate to associate with TOKEN2049.
From Garantex to A7A5
Speaking on the sidelines of TOKEN2049, A7A5’s director for regulatory and overseas affairs, Oleg Ogienko, said that they had been sanctioned several times. However, he said they were compliant with regulations in Kyrgyzstan and denied that the stablecoin had anything to do with money laundering.
However, the US government has traced A7A5’s network to Garantex, an exchange with ties to Moscow. The platform came under heavy US sanctions in 2022 for money laundering and ransomware payments.
In August 2025, the US Department of the Treasury also took action against Grinex, which succeeded Grantex. John K. Hurlet, the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said, “The United States will not tolerate abuse of this industry to support cybercrime and sanctions evasion. Exploiting cryptocurrency exchanges to launder money and facilitate ransomware attacks not only threatens our national security but also tarnishes the reputations of legitimate virtual asset service providers.”
Despite sanctions, A7A5 has become popular among freelancers, small importers, and OTC brokers who use it as an alternative to USDT and USDC. The token is also traded on several exchanges based in regions that don’t fully impose Western sanctions, such as Dubai, Hong Kong, and Istanbul.
The Global Regulatory Gap
A7A5 underscores one of the main challenges that Western governments face when enforcing crypto sanctions. Since the stablecoin operates out of Kyrgyzstan has zero Western partners, U.S. sanctions have proven ineffective.
According to Bloomberg, the EU is also considering direct sanctions on A7A5, but once again, enforcement might prove challenging. Many Asian and Middle Eastern countries have not adopted mirror sanctions against Kremlin-linked companies and still allow the token to operate freely in their markets.
As part of their enforcement efforts, the European Commission is reportedly considering new measures to ban any EU-based businesses that engage with A7A5 indirectly.
Crypto’s Compliance Crossroads
The Singapore TOKEN2049 event was a wake-up call for many in the crypto industry. At a time when the industry is trying to convince governments about the safety of crypto, associating with entities sanctioned for money laundering and cyber terrorism isn’t what many attendees and speakers were expecting.
Reputational and regulatory risks now extend beyond exchanges into the wider crypto ecosystem. While major exchanges like Binance and OKX have expanded their screening to block prohibited transactions in real time, sponsorships and decentralised finance (DeFi) projects remain inconsistent.
Looking Ahead
A7A5’s presence at TOKEN2049 wasn’t just a public-relations mishap, but it’s symbolic of the collision of mainstream crypto’s compliance goals with geopolitics and fraudulent players in the industry.
The incident is undoubtedly expected to change how the industry deals with sanctioned assets moving forward. Many event organisers are already reassessing their relationship with sponsors based in sanctioned countries and other high-risk jurisdictions.
For Western regulators, it’s a reminder that crypto sanctions are only as strong as international cooperation allows. A7A5 massive transactions are a clear sign that blockchain is becoming a key part of Russia’s strategy to move outside traditional banks. And as its sanction-defying rise shows, crypto may be borderless, but sanction enforcement still isn’t.
