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Illicit networks accounted for $141 billion
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Illicit networks accounted for $141 billion
Illicit networks accounted for $141 billion of the trillions of stablecoin volume in 2025
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Illicit networks accounted for $141 billion of the trillions of stablecoin volume in 2025
Sanctions-related activity accounted for 86% of illicit crypto flows last year, with most of those flows routed through stablecoin platforms, according to TRM Labs.
By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Jamie Crawley
Updated Feb 19, 2026, 1:08 p.m. Published Feb 19, 2026, 12:25 p.m.
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Less than 0.5% of stablecoin transactions were tied to illicit activity in 2025, according to a recent report by blockchain analytics platform TRM Labs. (satheeshsankaran/Pixabay, modified by CoinDesk)
What to know:
- Illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins in 2025, more than half of it linked to the ruble-pegged A7A5 token, whose executives dispute claims that their operations are illegal.
- Stablecoins made up 86% of all illicit crypto flows in 2025, with sanctions-related networks such as the A7 ecosystem evolving into large, centralized cross-border financial systems.
- A745's director for Regulatory and Overseas Affairs disputed the findings.
In 2025, illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins, the highest level observed in five years, according to a new report from TRM Labs. The report noted that overall stablecoin activity exceeded $1 tillion per month on several occasions last year.
Sanctions-related activity accounted for 86% of illicit crypto flows, the report said, with bad actors mostly relying on stablecoin platforms.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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Of that $141 billion, $72 billion was linked to the A7A5 token, a ruble-pegged stablecoin operating within sanctions-linked networks.
Oleg Ogienko, A7A5's director for Regulatory and Overseas Affairs, told CoinDesk that “TRM Labs tries to call all Russian external trade illicit or illegal. But this is of course a wrong statement.”
In separate comments during an interview at Consensus Hong Kong 2026, Ogienko was even more defiant, saying he was looking to debate anyone who accuses him of breaking any compliance laws through his stablecoin company.
“We are fully compliant with the regulations of Kyrgyzstan. We do not do illegal things,” he said. "We have KYC procedures, and we have AML mechanisms embedded into our infrastructure. We do not violate any Financial Action Task Force principles."
However, Old Vector LLC and A7 LLC, A7A5's issuing and affiliated entities, and Promsvyazbank (PSB), the bank that holds the reserves, are sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, barring the U.S. dollar-denominated financial world from interacting with them.
TRM LabsStablecoins
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