Oleg Ogienko Defends A7A5’s Compliance
HONG KONG — Oleg Ogienko, the director for Regulatory and Overseas Affairs at A7A5, is eager to engage in discussions with anyone who claims that his stablecoin company has violated compliance laws.
Compliance as a Priority
During an interview with CoinDesk at Consensus Hong Kong, Ogienko, representing the Ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, reaffirmed the importance of compliance with local laws, particularly those of Kyrgyzstan where the company is incorporated. He emphasized that the platform does not accommodate criminal activities.
Sanctions and Restrictions
However, it’s notable that A7A5, along with its affiliates Old Vector LLC and A7 LLC, as well as their reserve-holding bank, Promsvyazbank (PSB), are under U.S. sanctions, preventing interaction with the U.S. dollar-based financial system.
Facilitating Cross-Border Payments
Despite these sanctions, using A7A5 to assist Russian companies in circumvention is not illegal in Kyrgyzstan or Russia. The stablecoin enables cross-border transactions for Russian clients encountering banking limitations and provides access to USDT liquidity through decentralized finance (DeFi) channels without directly holding dollar-based stablecoins.
Market Demand and Growth
The sanctions have surprisingly fueled A7A5’s growth, which saw an increase of nearly $90 billion in circulating supply last year, surpassing USDT and USDC. The primary demand stems from businesses in Asia, Africa, and South America that engage in trade with Russian entities requiring cross-border payment solutions.
Expanding Liquidity and Partnerships
Currently, liquidity is somewhat restricted because centralized exchanges shy away from listing the token due to potential secondary sanctions. While there are DeFi liquidity pools for swapping A7A5 with USDT, only about USDT 50,000 is available according to the company’s dashboard. Ogienko aims to address this issue by seeking partnerships at the Consensus event.
Future Ambitions and Regulatory Environment
Despite not being a sponsor at Consensus — a situation that raises concerns among conference organizers regarding U.S. sanctions — Ogienko’s vision remains unchanged. He is determined to increase trade volumes using A7A5, hoping to facilitate over 20% of Russia’s trade settlements. However, A7A5 remains unusable in Russia, as stablecoin regulations are still being drafted. Ogienko has professed a consultative relationship with Russian authorities, focused on blockchain regulation.
