On April 2, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi publicly confirmed at a routine press conference in Tehran that all very large crude carriers (VLCCs) passing through the Strait of Hormuz must pay a passage fee to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), explicitly excluding the U.S. dollar as a settlement channel. This statement formalizes rumors previously circulating in shipping circles—Iran is no longer satisfied with traditional tools of geopolitical games but is transforming its control of the strait into a financial experiment targeting dollar hegemony.
The implementation speed of the fee mechanism has exceeded market expectations.
Citing internal documents from the IRGC Navy, Bloomberg reported that the system had completed technical deployment by the end of March. This time, Iran has chosen only two methods to receive passage fees: RMB wire transfers or settlements via decentralized networks using dollar-denominated stablecoins.
The Iranian customs department has set up a dedicated cryptocurrency exchange window on Qeshm Island to ensure funds are quickly converted into rials or transferred to overseas accounts after receipt.
This arrangement is meticulously designed.
Traditional international shipping settlements rely on the SWIFT network and correspondent banking system; any transaction involving Iran would trigger secondary sanctions from the U.S. Treasury. The combination of the RMB Cross-Border Payment System and public blockchain networks, however, constructs a parallel channel bypassing dollar surveillance.
According to statistics from London-based shipping brokerage Braemar, at least two VLCCs flying unspecified flags of convenience completed RMB payments and safely passed through the strait in late March. The Hormuz Strait Passage Management Act, passed by the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee on March 30, further provides domestic legal backing for this mechanism.
It is worth noting that Iran has also implemented differentiated fee pricing for vessels based on their geopolitical affiliations.
Citing insider information, Bloomberg reported the oil fee standards for the Strait of Hormuz, starting at $0.5 per barrel, categorized into five tiers based on relationships with different countries.
The first tier is ally preferential rates: China and Russia, $0.5-$0.7 per barrel, with dedicated green channels; regular reporting allows free passage.
The second tier is friendly partners: countries like India and Pakistan, $0.8-$0.9 per barrel.
The third tier is neutral countries: African nations, Southeast Asia, Latin America, $1 per barrel, requiring declaration and inspection to ensure no hostile assets before release.
The fourth tier is high-risk countries: those with close ties to the U.S. but no hostile actions against Iran, such as Japan, South Korea, and many EU countries, $1.2-$1.5 per barrel, subject to full monitoring by Iran and potentially long approval queues.
The fifth tier is the U.S., Israel, and their allies: prohibited from passage.
Once a VLCC pays the toll, the IRGC issues a license code and route instructions. The vessel must fly the flag of a country that has a negotiated passage agreement; in some cases, it must also formally change its registration to that country. As the vessel approaches the Strait of Hormuz, it must broadcast its passage code via VHF radio. A patrol boat will then escort it, navigating close to the coastline through a group of islands now referred to by industry insiders as the "Iranian toll station," to ensure safe passage through the strait.
This is the first time a sovereign state has incorporated stablecoins into strategic-level payment infrastructure.
Unlike El Salvador's symbolic move to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, Iran's choice involves mandatory commercial scale. The strait handles 21% of global seaborne crude oil traffic, with dozens of vessels passing through daily.
If this mechanism continues to operate, it is estimated that over $20 billion in stablecoins will flow through Iran-controlled digital wallets annually, forming a grey liquidity pool protected by sovereign power.
The deeper impact lies in the chain reaction for shipping insurance and trade finance. The International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) has issued an internal warning, noting that payments to the IRGC may trigger compliance risks under EU and UK sanctions, potentially voiding insurance policies. This forces shipowners into a brutal trade-off between shipping economics and legal risks: diverting via the Cape of Good Hope adds 15 days of voyage and tens of thousands in fuel costs, while paying the cryptocurrency toll risks account freezes. Some commodity traders have begun attempting to reroute through Pakistani intermediaries. Islamabad recently announced permission for 20 international tankers to fly the Pakistani flag, essentially providing an offshore outsourcing channel for Iran's system.
Iran is not the only country doing this. Russia previously announced a similar fee policy for the Northern Sea Route and has publicly considered accepting cryptocurrency settlements. This digital financial logic of turning geographical hubs into 'nodes' is reshaping the payment infrastructure of global energy trade.
When merchant ships complete USDT settlements via on-chain protocols in the anchorage of Qeshm Island, it is not merely the payment of a toll but a systematic dismantling of the remnants of the Bretton Woods system.
The fragility of this experiment is equally evident. Since USDT/USDC are essentially dollar-pegged and subject to OFAC tracking, how the shadow public entity established by the IRGC can 'decentralize' and convert large-scale funds into physical assets or fiat currency (rials) is a risk point. However, as long as Iran maintains its geographical monopoly over the Strait of Hormuz, this financial war mediated by cryptocurrency will continue to rewrite the rulebook of global trade.
