Russia has surpassed the United Kingdom in cryptocurrency transaction volume, becoming the largest crypto market in Europe. Between July 2023 and June 2025, crypto transactions in Russia reached $376 billion, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company. In comparison, the UK recorded $273 billion in the same period.
A major factor behind Russia’s record was the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, widely used for cross-border payments to circumvent Western sanctions. European Union regulators are considering restrictions on A7A5 and its operators, but previous attempts to disrupt the network have only led to its restructuring.
Decentralized finance activity in Russia tripled since 2023, with institutional and retail participants driving growth. Other European countries showing strong growth include Germany, Poland, and Ukraine. Germany became the third-largest market with $219 billion in transactions, followed by Ukraine and France.
Corporate crypto activity in Russia increased by 86%, with A7A5 serving as a key instrument for cross-border transfers. The stablecoin is managed by payment company A7, controlled 51% by Ilan Shor, a banker involved in Moldovan financial scandals, and 49% by Probusinessbank, a financer of the Russian defense industry that ensures the coin’s ruble peg. Russia’s state development bank VEB also provided funding.
As of September 26, Elliptic estimated 41.6 billion A7A5 tokens in circulation, valued at $496 million, with $68 billion worth of transactions executed using the stablecoin. In just 1.5 months from August, tokens were used in $6.1 billion worth of operations. Following U.S. sanctions in August against the Kyrgyz exchange Grinex, where A7A5 had been transferred earlier in the year, operators moved $405 million worth of tokens to a new “clean” crypto wallet.
