CIS Region Crypto Assets Ecology and Digital Finance Ambitions

In March 2025, a small-scale Crypto Assets exhibition was held in Moscow. Although the exhibition area was small, it attracted the attention of government, industry, technology, and finance. Under the financial blockade of war and sanctions, the CIS region is seeking survival and breakthroughs through stablecoins and blockchain technology.

Moscow Crypto Summit Exhibition Observation

The exhibition will be held in Moscow on March 19-20 and is an important annual event for the Crypto Assets industry in Russia. The agenda covers hot topics such as the outlook for the 2025 Crypto Assets market, Russian regulatory policies, and digital assets in BRICS countries.

The scale of the exhibition is limited but has highly regional characteristics:

• 40% are mining machine sellers, all equipment is made in China.
• 25% for Crypto Assets exchanges, including locally prominent platforms.
• 15% for cross-border payment and asset transfer service providers
• 10% for KOLs, media, and blockchain association organizations
• The rest are small projects providing compliance services such as anti-money laundering.

The entire exhibition highlights the extreme localization and closed nature of the CIS market. However, the mining business is a major highlight, as the Russian side adopts an inclusive and even encouraging attitude towards mining at the policy level.

Interpretation of CIS Region Crypto Policies

Russia is gradually forming a distinctive cryptocurrency policy path, with the core focus on exploring cross-border payment and financial sovereignty solutions that bypass the Western financial system based on stablecoins and blockchain.

Main policy signals:

1. Incorporate Crypto Assets into the "de-dollarization" strategy and build local stablecoins.
2. Improve relevant laws and gradually regulate, open special administrative zones to conduct Crypto Assets compliance sandbox pilot projects.
3. Strengthen cooperation with BRICS countries to develop a cross-border settlement framework for "multilateral anchoring and coin mutual recognition".

Local Stablecoin

A7A5 Stablecoin

The A7A5, launched in February 2025, is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Russian Ruble, designed to facilitate cross-border payments. Key features:

• Liquidity is provided by real bank deposits held in reliable banks.
• Published on Ethereum and Tron blockchains to ensure compatibility.
• Built-in freezing and burning features to ensure security and compliance
• Able to generate passive income, with 50% of overnight deposit earnings distributed to holders.
• Has been listed for trading on exchanges such as Garantex.

A7A5 successfully responded to the Garantex exchange USDT freezing incident, known as "the first self-rescue case in the Crypto Assets market".

Kyrgyzstan National Stablecoin USDKG

Kyrgyzstan chooses to support the gold-backed stablecoin USDKG, rather than developing the central bank digital currency ( CBDC ). Main advantages:

• Global availability: Usable for international settlement
• Transparency: Transactions are traceable on the blockchain.
• Stability: The value retention ability of gold is relatively good.

USDKG has been audited by Consensys Diligence, confirming the security of the smart contract.

Russia's Laws and Regulations on the Crypto Industry

Current legal framework:

• The "Digital Financial Assets Law" recognizes digital financial assets as a legitimate form of property.
• The draft of the "Digital Currency Law" has not yet been passed, and there are still differences.

New regulatory proposal:

• Establish a specialized experimental legal system for a period of three years ( ELR )
• Allow "special qualified" investors to conduct Crypto Assets trading within ELR
• Allow exporters and importers to use Crypto Assets for cross-border settlement within the ELR.
• Specify the procedures and conditions for Crypto Assets mining.

Cross-border Payments and International Cooperation

Russia values cooperation with BRICS countries, promoting multilateral recognition and anchoring between stablecoins and local digital assets among countries, with the goal of building a regional financial network that does not rely on the US dollar.

At the same time, Russian enterprises are establishing legal entities in "friendly countries," issuing private-chain stablecoins, and building a more resilient and controllable digital payment network to circumvent the cross-border payment restrictions imposed by Western sanctions.