Following a two-week ceasefire agreement reached with the United States, Iran has unveiled a toll system requiring oil tankers to pay fees in Bitcoin to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The plan, reported by the Financial Times on Wednesday, calls for a charge of one dollar per barrel of oil transiting the strategically vital waterway. Iranian authorities say the system is designed to allow normal shipping traffic to resume while maintaining oversight of cargo moving through the strait.
Under the proposed arrangement, operators of vessels seeking passage must first email Iranian authorities to declare the contents of their cargo and await approval. Once clearance is granted, ship operators will have only a brief window described as “a few seconds” to transfer the required Bitcoin payment to an Iran-controlled digital wallet. The tight timeframe and use of cryptocurrency are central to how the system is structured.
An Iranian official told the Financial Times that using Bitcoin ensures the collected fees “can’t be traced or confiscated due to sanctions.” The choice of cryptocurrency is therefore a direct response to the international financial restrictions placed on Iran. The conditions and logistics of the toll arrangement were determined by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Iranian authorities have framed the toll system as a security measure, stating it is intended to prevent weapons from being transported through the strait during the ceasefire period. Iran seized control of the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the United States and Israel launched military strikes against the country in late February. The waterway carries roughly one third of the world’s crude oil supply each year, and the ongoing conflict has driven oil prices sharply higher.
The move is expected to draw resistance from other major oil-exporting nations in the region. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar are among the countries likely to object to Iran exercising prolonged control over the shared waterway. The strait is a critical transit route for their own energy exports, making the toll arrangement a point of potential regional tension.
President Donald Trump addressed the situation on Wednesday morning in an interview with ABC News, expressing hope that the United States and Iran could operate a joint toll system in the strait together as what he called a “joint venture.” Trump described the concept as “a beautiful thing.” However, Iranian officials who outlined the Bitcoin-based toll plan made no reference to any shared arrangement with the United States, leaving the two sides publicly at odds over how the system might function.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
