Iran Eases Currency Rules to Allow Crypto Trade Settlement

The United States has long used financial sanctions to restrict Iran’s access to dollars and cross-border payment services, prompting local businesses to turn to cryptocurrency. TRM Labs tracked about 60 wallets linked to sanctioned Iranian entities. Their transactions involved CoinEx and Nobitex, highlighting sanctions-compliance and anti-money-laundering risks at centralized exchanges.

A TRM Labs report said the wallets had moved more than $3.84 billion in cryptocurrency through CoinEx since 2019. About $2.7 billion, or roughly 70% of the total, went to Nobitex, Iran’s largest domestic exchange. CoinEx subsequently denied serving as a funding gateway for sanctioned Iranian crypto companies, leaving the two sides at odds over the exchange’s responsibility.

The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most critical oil shipping route, handling nearly one-fifth of global oil supplies. Iran faces severe financial restrictions after years of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries. Seeking to circumvent those restrictions and maintain control of the strategic waterway, Iran plans to exploit cryptocurrency's decentralized and anonymous features to impose mandatory tolls on tankers passing through the strait. The move has sparked grave global concerns over energy security and escalating geopolitical conflict.

Iran plans to charge tankers a toll of $1 per barrel, payable in Bitcoin or USDT, while offering discounts to friendly countries including China. It subsequently moved to establish a “Hormuz Security” insurance platform. The US Treasury warned that participants would face sanctions, while blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said payers would face an extremely high risk of sanctions. Trump responded with an ultimatum, demanding that Iran publicly guarantee free passage through the strait by this Saturday or face the consequences.