Iranian authorities are reportedly planning to charge ships for passage through the Strait of Hormuz using Bitcoin, according to a union spokesperson. This follows a claimed two-week ceasefire agreement involving the U.S. and Iran, which includes opening the vital waterway. The move highlights Iran’s ongoing use of cryptocurrency to navigate international sanctions.
Iran is considering charging some ships using the Strait of Hormuz a tariff of $1 per barrel of oil in Bitcoin (BTC). This comes hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed a two-week ceasefire agreement that included the waterway’s opening.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, Hamid Hosseini, stated empty oil tankers would pass freely. He said certain vessels would need to pay the BTC tariff after an assessment to ensure they were not transporting weapons.
“Once the email arrives and Iran completes its assessment, vessels are given a few seconds to pay in Bitcoin, ensuring they can’t be traced or confiscated due to sanctions,” said Hosseini. Many ships have avoided the strait since U.S.-Israel air strikes on Iranian targets in February and March.
Amid these tensions, crude oil exceeded $100 per barrel and BTC fluctuated between $65,000 and $75,000. Trump stated the deal included a suspension of attacks and a safe opening of the strait. Iran’s state media reported it delivered a 10-point plan, including continued control of the waterway.
Before the escalation, Iran had used digital assets to evade sanctions as its rial fell. Elliptic reported in January that Iran’s central bank acquired half a billion dollars worth of Tether‘s USDt stablecoin. TRM Labs also tracked about $3.7 billion in total crypto flows in Iran between January and July 2025.
