The post Crypto Crime Hit All-Time High in 2025, With Russian Stablecoin Playing Key Role: TRM Labs appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In brief Illicit crypto activity hit a record $158 billion in 2025, up 145% year over year, according to a new TRM Labs report. The surge was driven largely by A7A5, a ruble-pegged stablecoin tied to Russia. TRM says the rise of A7A5 shows how sanctioned states are moving away from dollar-based rails toward specialized crypto tools. Illicit crypto volume blasted to an unprecedented high of $158 billion last year, in large part thanks to a trendy new stablecoin that appears designed to evade international sanctions. Last year’s deluge of illicit crypto activity represents a 145% surge compared to 2024, according to a new report from blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. Driving that increase is a new Russia-linked stablecoin that has become tremendously popular for evading sanctions and conducting state-aligned sanctioned economic activity. The stablecoin, A7A5, is pegged to the value of the Russian ruble, and became a key vector for illicit crypto activity, particularly sanctions evasion, over the course of last year.  For context, some 95% of inflows to sanctioned entities and jurisdictions in 2025 happened via stablecoins, according to TRM. And last year, 77% of that massive amount of illicit stablecoin activity— over $72 billion worth—was associated with A7A5 alone. That’s a major shift from past years, when dollar-pegged stablecoins like Tether’s USDT were relied on heavily to fuel illicit activity around the globe. While Tether remains a prevalent vector for sanctions evasion in 2025, A7A5 handily took the cake. TRM contends that trend underscores how sanctioned nations like Russia are having a tougher time navigating dollar-backed payment rails—and are beginning to rely on bespoke crypto products to not just evade sanctions, but also conduct everyday economic activity. “A7A5 shows how pressure creates specialization, and how bad actors will build new rails when old ones become harder to…

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Filed under: News - @ January 28, 2026 2:27 pm