Will Iran Really Accept Bitcoin for Passages Through the Strait of Hormuz?

Allegations regarding the use of cryptocurrencies in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical transit points for global energy trade, continue to spark debate.

According to an assessment by Alex Thorn, reports that Iran demanded Bitcoin as a transit fee from ships passing through the strait in the post-war period with the US have not yet been confirmed.

Galaxy Research Research Director Alex Thorn, in a comprehensive analysis shared on the X platform, pointed out significant discrepancies between different sources. A previous report by the Financial Times suggested Iran planned to charge $1 per unit of oil and make payments in Bitcoin. However, Bloomberg reported that these payments could be made with stablecoins or the Chinese yuan, while Citrini Research indicated that some ships were making payments by dissolving Iranian assets abroad. On the other hand, blockchain analytics company TRM Labs argued that there is no evidence so far of widespread use of cryptocurrencies for such payments.

According to Thorn, if the claim of charging a toll fee with Bitcoin is true, this could highlight Bitcoin’s advantages as a censorship-resistant payment method. However, Thorn noted that the idea that “fast transactions increase privacy” is not technically accurate, stating that this would only be possible with second-layer solutions like the Lightning Network. Furthermore, he pointed out that considering a single toll fee could range from $200,000 to $2 million, there are practical limitations to processing payments of this magnitude both on-chain and via the Lightning Network.

Alex Thorn also stated that the Galaxy Research team will attempt to verify these claims by cross-analyzing AIS (Airborne Information System) data from ship tracking systems with blockchain transactions. While Iran is known to have used crypto assets in cross-border transactions in the past, claims of a “Bitcoin-based transit fee” in the Strait of Hormuz are not yet confirmed.

*This is not investment advice.