In brief
- Iran plans to require oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay transit fees in Bitcoin.
- Officials say using Bitcoin will help avoid sanctions by making payments harder to trace or seize.
- The proposal follows a ceasefire and could raise tensions with other oil exporters over control of the Strait.
In the wake of a two-week ceasefire reached last night between the United States and Iran, Iranian leaders have announced a Bitcoin-centered plan to retain control of the Strait of Hormuz while allowing oil tankers to resume normal traffic through the crucial waterway.
The Iranian government will levy a fee of $1 per every barrel of oil that passes through the strait, and the fee will have to be paid in Bitcoin, according to a Wednesday report in the Financial Times.
Every ship seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will have to email Iranian authorities about the contents of its cargo, then wait for approval. Upon receiving the green light, the ship’s operators will have “a few seconds” to send a Bitcoin payment to an Iran-controlled wallet.
Such a system will ensure the fees “can’t be traced or confiscated due to sanctions,” an Iranian official told the Financial Times.
Iran says the system is intended to ensure weapons aren’t sent through the Strait during the two week period in which the United States and Iran have just agreed to cease hostilities. The conditions and logistics of the Hormuz toll were determined by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Iran seized control of the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the United States and Israel launched attacks on the nation in late February. Roughly a third of the world’s crude oil supply passes through the narrow waterway every year, and the ongoing war has sent oil prices skyrocketing.
Other oil exporters in the region, however, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, are likely to balk at the notion of Iran controlling the shared Strait for an extended period.
On Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump told ABC News he hoped the United States and Iran might charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz together as a “joint venture.” The president called the idea “a beautiful thing.”
No such notion of a joint toll system was mentioned by Iranian officials who outlined the Bitcoin-centered toll plan on Wednesday.
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