SS #37 - Rouble Coin Defies Sanctions at TOKEN2049

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Good Morning! While the wider market is buzzing over Bitcoin's recent push toward new highs, the real drama is unfolding in the stablecoin sector. This past week, the stablecoin market cap quietly surged past $300B for the first time, signaling massive growth amid the crypto rebound.

Yet, this growth comes with geopolitical friction: The rouble-backed stablecoin A7A5, which is linked to sanctioned Russian entities, was a high-profile sponsor at the major TOKEN2049 conference, underscoring the severe challenges of enforcing Western sanctions across global crypto venues.

Regardless of what the market brings, you can rely on Stablescope to deliver the latest, most critical updates from the stablecoin sector directly to your inbox.

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In Today's Edition:

• Headline: Rouble Coin Defies Sanctions at TOKEN2049

• Quick Bites: Stablecoin Market Cap Surpasses $300B for First Time Amid Crypto Rebound

• Yield of the Week: 41.04% APY on 246 Club

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HEADLINE

Rouble Coin Defies Sanctions at TOKEN2049

State of play: A rouble-backed stablecoin, A7A5, which is linked to sanctioned Russian entities, was a high-profile sponsor at the major TOKEN2049 crypto conference in Singapore, underscoring the challenges of enforcing Western sanctions in the global crypto space.

• The business behind A7A5, a stablecoin recently targeted by U.S. and U.K. sanctions for allegedly helping Russians evade financial restrictions.

• Transfer volumes for A7A5 have soared to over $70B since its launch in January, indicating rapidly increasing use, especially for cross-border payments with Russian trade partners in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

• TOKEN2049 scrubbed A7A5 references, highlighting organizers' compliance panic in a jurisdiction not enforcing the sanctions.

What’s Next: Global crypto events will face pressure to adopt a de facto U.S. sanctions policy, demanding urgent compliance upgrades. Projects like A7A5 will thrive in non-aligned jurisdictions, promoting a "multipolar" financial narrative. Expect increasing market fragmentation into distinct, politically-aligned crypto blocs.

Why it Matters: This confirms crypto is an effective tool to bypass traditional financial rails and undermine the efficacy of Western sanctions. The adoption of non-USD stablecoins validates their real-world utility in cross-border trade, but drastically raises the regulatory risk for the entire industry. A7A5's visibility signals that geopolitical sanctions are losing their teeth in the digital era.

Our Take: The industry must establish a unified, self-regulatory sanctions framework or risk aggressive intervention from Western regulators. This demand for a neutral system creates a massive market opportunity for transparent, decentralized stablecoin projects. Failure to act will likely lead to secondary sanctions risks being imposed on businesses.

QUICK BITES

• Tether seeking at least $200M for tokenized gold crypto treasury.

• Abracadabra loses $1.8M in protocol's third major DeFi hack since 2024.

• Stablecoin market cap surpasses $300B for first time amid crypto rebound.

• Ethereum Foundation swapping $4.5M in ETH for stablecoins to fuel growth.

• NYDIG says Trump-linked World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin needs better attestation reports.

• Standard Chartered estimates $1T could exit emerging market bank deposits for US stablecoins by 2028.

YIELD OF THE WEEK

246 Club aUSDT0: 41.04% APY

• The 246 Club Re-Lending process enables both new and current Aave lenders to maintain their original principal and continue earning the standard Aave deposit rate, while also generating additional yield by delegating their unused borrowing power to 246 Club.

• Assets deposited on Aave are represented by aTokens (e.g., aUSDC), which serve as both an interest-earning position that accrues value over time and as collateral that provides a specific amount of borrowing power.

• The additional returns for re-lenders are generated when 246 Club lends the delegated borrowing power to arbitrageurs. These arbitrageurs pay a premium over the standard Aave borrowing rate, and this premium is distributed back to the re-lenders.

Ripe sGREEN: 36.94% APY

• Ripe protocol distinguishes itself by allowing users to collateralize a single loan with their entire portfolio, including diverse assets like cryptocurrencies, tokenized stocks, and NFTs.

• Ripe issues an overcollateralized stablecoin named GREEN, which is consistently pegged to $1 and is created when users borrow against their deposited assets.

• The protocol features sGREEN, a yield-bearing counterpart to the stablecoin that automatically compounds protocol revenues into the holder's balance, functioning as a set-and-forget savings mechanism built on the ERC-4626 standard.

Upshift Mezo MUSD Vault: 30% APY

• Upshift’s August x Mezo MUSD Vault is designed to generate passive yield and Mezo-native rewards by depositing MUSD and actively allocating that capital across various yield-bearing strategies within the Mezo ecosystem.

• The vault is managed by August, which carefully curates the strategies to prioritize a balance of sustainability, composability, and potential returns within the Mezo DeFi landscape.

• Users who deposit MUSD earn passive returns composed of MUSD, 'mats', and other partner rewards without needing to actively manage their positions. Notably, the vault charges a 0% fee.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.