Garantex Resumes Activity Under Sanctions as A7A5 Stablecoin Enables Russian Trade Flows

Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex is reportedly operating again under Western sanctions, with Global Ledger tracing over $34 million in related wallets and at least $25 million already paid out to former users. Investigators describe a structure that routes funds through mixers, cross-chain bridges and aggregation wallets, while Russia's A7A5 rouble-pegged stablecoin has processed more than $87 billion in trade as companies convert roubles into USDT for cross-border payments.