Hours after US President Donald Trump said Iran and the United States had agreed to a two-week ceasefire that included opening the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials are reportedly considering charging vessels that use the waterway in cryptocurrency.
A Financial Times report on Wednesday cited a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union saying empty oil tankers would be allowed through the strait without fees, while certain ships would face a tariff of $1 per barrel payable in Bitcoin (BTC). The spokesperson, Hamid Hosseini, said Iranian authorities would assess each vessel over the two-week period to ensure it was not carrying 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,” Hosseini told the Financial Times.
Many vessels have effectively been barred from using the Strait of Hormuz to move oil and other supplies after US-Israel air strikes on Iranian targets in February and March. Amid that disruption and broader geopolitical tensions, crude oil topped $100 per barrel for the first time in four years, and cryptocurrency markets were volatile, with BTC trading between roughly $65,000 and $75,000.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the ceasefire would suspend “bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks” and enable the “complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz.” Iran’s state media reported that Tehran sent a 10-point plan to the US president as conditions for the deal, including retaining control of the waterway and lifting sanctions on Iran.
Before the recent escalation, reports indicated Iran had already been using digital assets to blunt sanctions as its currency, the rial, weakened against the dollar. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported in January that Iran’s central bank acquired about $500 million in Tether’s USDT stablecoin. TRM Labs tracked roughly $3.7 billion in total crypto flows in Iran between January and July 2025.
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy