The Iranian regime's decision to accept cryptocurrency payments from cargo ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz is a logical extension of its existing sanctions-circumventing trade networks, according to experts in blockchain-based criminal activity. This move has been confirmed by a spokesperson for Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union, who stated that bitcoin is being accepted as a payment method, with a fee of $1 per barrel of oil. The use of cryptocurrency, particularly stablecoins, has become a crucial component of Iran's cross-border trade, especially in the context of oil sales, as evidenced by data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been leveraging cryptocurrency to facilitate international trade, including Iranian oil sales, over the past few years.
The formalization of a system for shipping toll payments using bitcoin and USD-pegged stablecoins appears to be a bold move, but it is consistent with the Iranian regime's growing reliance on cryptocurrency. According to Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainalysis, it is not surprising that this type of trade is being conducted via cryptocurrency, given the toll paid by ships allowed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz. A review of sanctioned activity over the past year and a half reveals a complex network using crypto wallets, with a U.S.-sanctioned, IRGC-affiliated financier linked to the Iran-backed Houthi regime facilitating Iranian oil sales to Yemen involving cryptocurrency addresses, resulting in over $178 million in transfers. The Houthis, an Iran-backed armed group controlling much of northern Yemen, have also raised the prospect of imposing a second chokepoint on the world's oil and gas shipping trade at the Bab-al-Mandeb channel.
The IRGC-affiliated networks are using crypto at a commercial scale to facilitate cross-border trade, according to Fierman. The use of cryptocurrency wallets by the regime enables them to accept payments in crypto, making it easier than utilizing the traditional banking system, and they do not need to rely on cryptocurrency exchanges. The Iranian regime has been comprehensively sanctioned since 1979, and its inability to access U.S.
dollar-pegged assets makes it challenging for them to trade internationally. The use of USD-backed stablecoins has become an essential payment mechanism for the Iranian regime, allowing them to trade globally with anyone willing to trade with them, without relying on the traditional banking system. Tom Keatinge, founding director of the Centre for Finance and Security at UK defence think tank RUSI, agrees that USD-backed stablecoins have become a crucial payment mechanism for the Iranian regime, enabling them to avoid sanctions and western banking controls. Lee Reiners, a lecturing fellow at Duke University's Financial Economics Center, suggests that Iran could further its sanctions-skirting stablecoin goals by demanding payment in USD1, a stablecoin launched by the Trump family-affiliated World Liberty Financial in March 2025.