In response to recent sanctions and wallet freezes linked to the crypto exchange Garantex, Russian finance officials are considering the development of a national stablecoin to safeguard the country’s financial infrastructure from foreign interference.
According to reports on by Reuters and Russian state news outlet TASS, Osman Kabaloev, deputy director of the financial policy department at Russia’s Finance Ministry, emphasized the urgency for a homegrown digital currency similar to Tether’s USDT. He stated that the Kremlin should explore internally issued stablecoins pegged to alternative currencies, following actions by U.S. authorities and Tether that exposed vulnerabilities in Russia’s crypto engagement.
“Stablecoins remain unrestricted within our legal experimentation zone, but recent developments highlight their potential risks,”
Kabaloev told TASS.
The warning comes after the U.S. Department of Justice, in collaboration with Germany and Finland, froze domains tied to Garantex on March 6. Authorities claim the Russian-linked platform has processed over $96 billion in illicit transactions since its 2019 launch. On the same day, Tether halted access to $27 million worth of USDT tied to Garantex, bringing the exchange’s operations, including user withdrawals, to a standstill.
Garantex was originally sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in April 2022 over money laundering concerns. Despite this, according to findings from a Swiss blockchain analytics firm, it has reportedly re-emerged under a new identity, allegedly facilitating transactions with ruble-backed stablecoins through a different exchange.
In the wake of these developments, Evgeny Masharov of the Russian Civic Chamber proposed the creation of a state-managed crypto fund using assets seized in criminal investigations.
These discussions occur against a backdrop of booming global stablecoin activity. Since mid-2023, the sector’s market capitalization has surged past $200 billion. A joint report from Artemis and Dune revealed a 50% year-over-year increase in active stablecoin wallets. In 2024 alone, stablecoins recorded transaction volumes of $27.6 trillion—outpacing the combined volumes of Visa and Mastercard by 7.7%, fueled partly by the growing use of trading bots.
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