Iran War Pushes Debanked Commodity Traders Toward Stablecoin Settlement

The international trade finance market is worth about $2 trillion. Many commodity trades are financed by non-bank funds and settled through banks, generating annualized returns of about 15%. Iran-related sanctions and escalating conflict have increased counterparty risk, prompting banks to scrutinize more closely the flow of funds through regional hubs such as Oman. European traders consequently face being debanked.

On April 12, 2026, Luke Sully, CEO of trade finance stablecoin issuer Haycen, said some commodity traders had lost access to banking services and switched to Tether's USDT for cross-border settlement. The stablecoin market capitalization surpassed $300 billion in 2025, up about 50% year on year, while full-year transaction volume exceeded $4 trillion. Haycen is also targeting the non-bank trade settlement market with its U.S. dollar stablecoin, USDhn.