Iran is Demanding Crypto Tolls in the Strait of Hormuz

A new analysis by Chainalysis finds that Iran is using cryptocurrency to extract roughly $1 per barrel from tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas, with as much as 175 million barrels at sea at any given time, a model that could generate billions in revenue, deepen sanctions risks for global shippers and establish a precedent for how states can fuse geographic control with digital finance to reshape the rules of international trade

Iran’s growing use of cryptocurrency is moving from the margins of sanctions evasion into the core of statecraft, with new evidence suggesting that digital assets are being deployed to monetize one of the world’s most strategically vital shipping corridors.

According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz are being required to pay tolls of about $1 per barrel of oil to secure safe passage, using digital currencies routed through an intermediary system linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The arrangement, first reported in early April, would represent the first known case of a nation state demanding cryptocurrency payments for access to an international waterway.

The scale of the opportunity is considerable. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows. At any given time, about 175 million barrels of crude and refined products are loaded onto tankers in the Gulf. Even partial compliance with a $1 per barrel toll could generate substantial revenue for Tehran, particularly at a moment of acute economic strain.

What distinguishes this development is not only its novelty but its alignment with Iran’s existing financial architecture. Chainalysis estimates that entities linked to the Revolutionary Guard accounted for about 50 percent of Iran’s crypto ecosystem in the fourth quarter of 2025. Identified addresses associated with the group received more than $2 billion in 2024, rising to over $3 billion in 2025. These figures are considered conservative, as they reflect only wallets tied to formal sanctions designations and law enforcement seizures, excluding a wider network of intermediaries and shell entities.

Against that backdrop, the use of cryptocurrency for maritime tolls appears less like an experiment and more like a continuation of an established strategy. Iran has increasingly relied on digital assets to facilitate oil sales, weapons procurement and regional financing, particularly as sanctions restrict access to traditional banking channels.

Although some accounts of the toll system reference bitcoin, the structure of Iran’s crypto activity suggests that stablecoins are likely to play a central role if the system scales. Stablecoins offer price stability and liquidity, making them better suited for high volume commercial transactions than bitcoin, whose volatility and use in ransomware and cyber operations point to a different set of applications. For a regime managing large, recurring payments tied to global trade flows, the ability to preserve value and transact at scale is critical.

The implications for global commerce are significant. If successful, the model could be replicated by other sanctioned states or nonstate actors controlling key transit routes, from maritime chokepoints to overland corridors. It introduces a mechanism through which geographic control can be converted into revenue streams that operate partly outside the reach of conventional financial oversight.

For shipping companies, however, the risks are immediate and substantial. Iran remains subject to comprehensive United States and international sanctions, meaning that transactions involving its government or affiliated entities are broadly prohibited without specific authorization. Payments in cryptocurrency do not alter that legal exposure. Companies that comply with such toll demands could face enforcement actions, financial penalties and reputational damage.

At the same time, the use of blockchain introduces a paradox. While digital currencies can help bypass traditional intermediaries, they also create a transparent ledger of transactions. Regulators, law enforcement agencies and even private firms can trace flows of funds in near real time, identifying wallets linked to sanctioned entities and mapping their financial networks.

The Financial Times reported that Iran is preparing to accept Bitcoin for payments linked to passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Yet for years, the dominant form of crypto activity in the country has not been Bitcoin but dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT circulating on the Tron network.

But a different trajectory is emerging. Iran is signalling a long-term shift toward censorship-resistant financial infrastructure. In effect, toward Bitcoin.

Iran is not new to cryptocurrency. In 2019, its parliament legalized Bitcoin mining, opening the door to an industry that at its peak accounted for more than 4% of global hashrate, with an estimated 427,000 mining machines operating in the country. Since that policy shift, blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs estimates that roughly $3 billion in crypto-related flows have been linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The dominance of stablecoins in Iran’s crypto ecosystem, however, points to a different set of risks.

Unlike Bitcoin, dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDC and USDT are issued by centralized companies that can freeze funds at the request of regulators or law enforcement. That ability has already been used against Iranian-linked wallets on multiple occasions.

In 2025, Tether froze dozens of wallets associated with Iranian actors, including $37 million tied to the country’s central bank. More than 40 additional addresses were also flagged for sanctions exposure.

For Tehran, this creates a structural vulnerability. Stablecoins may be efficient for moving value, but they remain embedded in the same enforcement architecture that underpins the dollar system Iran is trying to circumvent.

Iran could, in theory, lean more heavily into stablecoins for cross-border payments. But that reliance carries its own strategic risk. Their centralized issuance means they remain subject to unilateral intervention, particularly in a sanctions environment where enforcement pressure can escalate quickly.

Bitcoin, by contrast, offers a different proposition, but not an obvious solution.

At toll rates of about $1 per barrel, a single large tanker could generate up to $2 million in fees.

But Bitcoin, as currently designed, struggles to support that use case at scale.

Payments tied to maritime tolling require speed, predictability, and a degree of transactional privacy. Bitcoin transactions are publicly visible and typically take about 10 minutes to confirm on-chain, making them poorly suited for high-frequency settlement.

The Lightning Network, Bitcoin’s main Layer 2 scaling system, is the most viable workaround for such payments.

Even so, its current capacity highlights the gap between ambition and infrastructure. The largest publicly recorded Lightning Network transaction is around $1 million, significantly below the value of a single supertanker passing through one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints.

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