Iran’s Building a Bitcoin Empire for the Strait of Hormuz – Moby THE GIST
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Much to the frustration of the Trump Administration, Iran’s using Bitcoin to build the kind of financial digital infrastructure never thought possible.
They’re calling it the “Hormuz Safe,” a Bitcoin-based “maritime insurance platform” tied to ships passing through the contested Straight of Hormuz, a key energy corridor.
There’s some irony here, given President Trump in 2024 ran on a pro-crypto platform, only to have the country he launched a hot conflict with turn around and use it.
WHAT HAPPENED
Developed by Iran’s Ministry of Economy in mid-May, the “Hormuz Safe” is a clear step by Tehran to turn its military grip on the Strait of Hormuz into a legitimate-looking commercial operation.
Still, Western insurance firms, SWIFT (the international banking rails), and the U.S. dollar are unavailable for Iran to collect their Hormuz payments because there’s still no peace treaty between Iran the U.S.
Here’s how it works: After filing a mandatory “Vessel Information Declaration” form, commercial shipping companies, cargo owners, and oil tankers will then go onto the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp’s online platform (hope there’s good WiFi!), detail their cargo, and then send the required Bitcoin to a specified wallet. If you’ve ever done this on Coinbase, there’s a terrifying moment when you think you’ve entered the wrong wallet address, even though you’re waiting for the money to show up. We can’t imagine how tense the first few go-arounds will be. Once the transaction clears Bitcoin’s blockchain, the vessel receives a cryptographically signed digital receipt, proof of coverage, and their way.
Sounds easy enough, right?
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Not quite. At some point the IRGC will have to withdraw this Bitcoin from a custodial exchange and swap it for an asset more stable and widely accepted. This has already happened via various crypto exchanges, as well as by directly freezing on-chain crypto stablecoins like USDT (Tether).
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in late April that the U.S. government coordinated the freezing of $344 million in USDT tied to Iranian sanctions as part of “Operation Economic Fury.” Bessent later said that the figure was actually higher, somewhere around $500 million. But this is only possible because the federal government and Tether are close, likely because Tether is in the process of launching USA₮ (USAT), a stablecoin designed specifically for the American market.
Bitcoin, unlike USDT, can’t be frozen because of its design. Bitcoin is entirely decentralized, meaning there’s no corporate off-switch like Tether. Of course, the federal government can blacklist wallets, which would make it impossible withdraw from certain crypto exchanges. But Iran could then go to China, Russia, North Korea, or other U.S. adversaries. While the cryptocurrency is transparent and can be tracked, we saw last week that China told its companies to ignore U.S. sanctions targeting domestic refineries involved in the Iranian oil trade.
So, who’s going to tell them otherwise? Iran could also simply hold the Bitcoin, which would be great for Bitcoin given the recent scarcity narratives touted by crypto bulls like Michael Saylor.
WHAT’S NEXT
General reporting on how the “Hormuz Safe” works is still spotty, with most of the information coming from Iranian state-linked and regional Middle Eastern media outlets like the Fars News Agency.
Worse, there is no verified public website or active portal for “Hormuz Safe” that international shipping lines can log into, leaving the potential for scam Bitcoin and crypto sites acting as the “Hormuz Safe” a very real possibility. This already happened in late April, when one stranded ship fell for the scam, paid the crypto fee, and believed it had official clearance from Tehran to exit the Gulf, only to have its boat eventually shot at by the IRGC.
That shouldn’t take away from the fact that, if the IRGC can pull off the “Hormuz Safe,” they stand to make $10 billion annually, per reports. None of this infrastructure existed before the Trump Administration and Israel launched their attack on Iran. It could end up hurting the U.S. dollar’s supremacy — and throw a wrench into global trade.