Singapore took an unusual step in its traditionally neutral foreign policy by sanctioning Promsvyazbank (PSB), a Russian bank tied to the ruble-backed stablecoin issuer A7A5, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite the sanctions, A7A5 was legally able to appear at Token2049, as the conference is organized by Hong Kong-based BOB Group.

This created a compliance dilemma: a ruble-backed stablecoin tied to a sanctioned Russian defense bank was present at Singapore’s largest crypto event, highlighting how financial sanctions can become blurred across jurisdictions.

On Friday morning, former White House Crypto Policy Director Bo Hines took the stage to promote Tether and its Genius-act-compliant stablecoin USAT, emphasizing its role as a guarantor of U.S. dollar hegemony. Hours later, Oleg Ogienko, A7A5’s Director of Regulatory and Overseas Affairs, delivered a contrasting message, representing a sanctioned ruble-backed stablecoin issuer with global scrutiny.

The controversy raises questions about how A7A5 was able to sponsor the event. A7A5, issued by Old Vector and used on the A7 LLC payments platform, is backed by Promsvyazbank, a Russian state-owned bank sanctioned by the U.S., U.K., and other jurisdictions for financing Russia’s defense sector.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Singapore broke from decades of neutrality and joined Western nations in sanctioning key Russian banks, including PSB. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued notice SNR-N01 on March 14, 2023, barring financial entities in Singapore from interacting with major Russian banks such as PSB. This effectively prohibits MAS-regulated institutions and crypto service providers from facilitating transactions, sponsorships, or partnerships involving A7A5 or other PSB-backed digital assets.

However, Token2049 is organized by Hong Kong-registered BOB Group. Hong Kong, following Beijing’s lead, maintains trade and financial ties with Russia despite Western restrictions, allowing the conference to comply with local laws.

The presence of A7A5 unsettled some sponsors. Several companies told CoinDesk that the stablecoin’s inclusion was a “compliance nightmare,” with one describing a “heart attack” at seeing the brand listed. In response, BOB Group removed A7A5 from the official sponsor list, although records remain on the Internet Archive. A7A5, meanwhile, continues to promote itself as a conference sponsor on social media, including for the Token2049 massage zone—a lounge “where deals are closed while you unwind.”

Market Movements

• BTC: Bitcoin surged past $125,000, up 11% for the week, fueled by U.S. spot ETF inflows and safe-haven demand amid the U.S. government shutdown and global liquidity expectations.
• ETH: Ethereum trades around $4,500, drawing attention ahead of December’s Fusaka upgrade. According to VanEck, the update will cut rollup costs through PeerDAS, improve scaling efficiency, and reinforce ETH’s role as a monetary backbone rather than just a fee-generating asset.
• Gold: Gold continues to rise, trading above $3,880 as investors seek safe-haven assets amid the prolonged U.S. government shutdown.
• Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped over 4% to a record high after the ruling LDP selected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader. Investors anticipate her pro-growth “high-pressure” economic policies will keep BOJ policies accommodative.