The decision by Iran to accept cryptocurrency payments from vessels traversing the Strait of Hormuz aligns with its established strategy to circumvent international sanctions. Blockchain experts note that this move seamlessly integrates into Tehran’s current trade networks designed to bypass such restrictions.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union confirmed that bitcoin is being utilized as a payment method. Previous reports indicated stablecoins were also accepted by certain oil tankers to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The fee structure involves $1 per barrel, with the largest vessels carrying up to two million barrels.
This development formalizes an audacious system whereby shipping tolls are paid via bitcoin and USD-pegged stablecoins. However, Iran, particularly its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has increasingly relied on cryptocurrency for cross-border trade over recent years, as noted by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainalysis, remarked that it was predictable for such transactions to occur via cryptocurrencies. This refers specifically to payments made by ships permitted to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, a critical sea passage for global oil and liquefied natural gas transportation.
Recent data over the past year and a half illustrates an expanding and intricate network utilizing crypto wallets. In December 2024, an IRGC-affiliated financier, sanctioned by the U.S., linked to Iran’s support of the Houthi regime in Yemen, facilitated cryptocurrency transactions exceeding $178 million in Iranian oil sales.
By April 2025, a wider group of Houthi financiers was involved in purchasing Russian weapons and commodities using their crypto addresses. These activities were included in sanctions designations totaling nearly a billion dollars within just one year.
The Houthis, an Iran-aligned militant group controlling parts of northern Yemen, have proposed creating another critical chokepoint on global oil shipping routes at the Bab-al-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Fierman from Chainalysis describes a sophisticated network of IRGC-linked cryptocurrency wallets facilitating commercial scale cross-border trade. This system is more complex than merely using static wallets and avoids traditional banking by offering liquidity through crypto exchanges.
Unlike North Korea’s primary focus on stealing and laundering billions in cryptocurrencies, Iran’s use of stablecoins for international transactions inversely facilitates legitimate trade. Since 1979, comprehensive sanctions have restricted Iranian access to U.S. dollar-pegged assets, complicating their global trade efforts with Rials or Tomans amid persistent hyperinflation.
Tom Keatinge, director at the UK think tank RUSI’s Centre for Finance and Security, concurs that USD-backed stablecoins are becoming a vital payment method for Iran to evade sanctions and Western banking systems. Despite potential regulatory scrutiny from the West, the actual risk of intervention appears minimal, he noted.
Lee Reiners, a fellow at Duke University’s Financial Economics Center, suggested an innovative strategy for Iran: follow its UAE neighbor by demanding payments in USD1, a stablecoin introduced by Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial in March 2025. Such a move could incentivize the U.S. President to lift sanctions, enabling Iran to set tolls as desired.