EU Cracks Down on Russia's A7A5 Stablecoin and HTX Exchange

The European Union has imposed new economic sanctions on Russia's A7A5 stablecoin and the HTX exchange, which has been accused of helping to evade Western sanctions. The latest package of restrictive measures targets over a hundred banks and crypto operators, including some familiar faces in the industry.

The EU added four more designations related to the A7 network, including Russia-based A7 Agent LLC and Limited Liability Company A71, as well as A7 Africa and A7 Nigeria. These entities are linked to the A7A5 ruble-backed stablecoin, which has become Vladimir Putin's primary crypto vehicle for dodging Western sanctions.

The EU previously targeted the Kyrgyzstan-based Meer exchange for allowing significant trading volume of A7A5, and the authorities are now widening this net. The list of credit and financial institutions and entities providing crypto-assets services or payment services established outside of the EU that are significantly frustrating European sanctions efforts includes several other exchanges and wallets.

HTX has been accused of playing a game of digital wallet whack-a-mole with UK authorities, who have targeted both HTX and A7A5 in recent months. The exchange denied wrongdoing at the time, but a new report from blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs found that HTX has been furiously flipping tokens between wallets and networks to stay one step ahead of compliance officials.