Financial Times: The Russian ruble stablecoin A7A5 is linked to the successor of Garantex.

CN
10 hours ago

A7A5 is a new stablecoin backed by the Russian ruble, which has reportedly become the main trading tool on the Grinex cryptocurrency exchange. Grinex is widely regarded as the successor to the sanctioned Garantex platform in Russia.

According to the Financial Times on Wednesday, since the stablecoin was launched in February in Kyrgyzstan, at least $9.3 billion worth of A7A5 (A7A5) has been traded through Grinex.

Despite Grinex repeatedly denying any connection to Garantex, it is alleged that the exchange provides balance credits to users of the sanctioned Garantex. Garantex had $27 million worth of USDT frozen by Tether in March.

Tom Robinson, founder of Elliptic, told the Financial Times: "Garantex users' unliquidated balances at the time of the platform's closure can be credited to new accounts opened on Grinex."

According to on-chain data from Etherscan and Tronscan, A7A5 has accumulated approximately 24,000 holders since its launch about four months ago.

According to traceable data from CoinGecko, A7A5 has a market capitalization of $151 million, with approximately 12 million tokens issued, and is only listed on the decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap.

As shown in Grinex's Telegram channel, A7A5 is traded not only against the Russian ruble but also against stablecoins like Tether's USDT and actual US dollars.

A7A5 claims it is backed by ruble deposits held at Promsvyazbank at a 1:1 ratio. Promsvyazbank is an institution based in Moscow that has been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU due to its role in the Russian defense sector.

According to the Financial Times, the $9.3 billion A7A5 trading on Grinex comes from only 124 wallets.

The Financial Times stated: "The true value of the transactions represented by these token flows is unclear: a significant portion of the liquidity follows a fixed pattern, suggesting they may be used as part of internal banking processes."

Elliptic analysts added that the token may currently only be used by a small number of participants or services.

While previous reports have also questioned whether Grinex is a direct successor to the troubled Garantex, Grinex has consistently denied such allegations.

A representative from Grinex reportedly stated: "Grinex seized market opportunities as part of its growth strategy after Garantex closed." The platform still "acquired a portion of the non-toxic customer base of the blocked Garantex exchange, only committing to serve historically transparent users," the representative added.

It is claimed that the relationship between Grinex and Garantex is not the only speculation involving the exchange and A7A5.

According to a report from the Center for Information Resilience (CIR), A7A5 may be linked to Moldovan politician and businessman Ilan Shor. Ilan Shor is under sanctions and has been convicted of fraud in Moldova.

Although A7A5 stated that it severed ties with the Shor-related A7 project in May, the Moldovan tycoon appeared in a panel discussion at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, promoting the A7A5 stablecoin.

Cointelegraph has reached out to A7A5 and Grinex for comments but has not received a response as of the time of publication.

Related: Japan proposes reclassifying cryptocurrencies to pave the way for ETFs and lower taxes

Original article: “Financial Times: Russian Ruble Stablecoin A7A5 Linked to Garantex Successor”

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