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Iran Reportedly Approves Strait of Hormuz Transit Fee Accepting Bitcoin and USDT

According to Marisks, crypto toll scams targeting tankers near the Strait of Hormuz emerged soon after reports that Iran approved a $1-per-barrel transit fee payable in Bitcoin, USDT, or Chinese yuan, while blockchain analysts found no evidence of broad on-chain payments.

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Fact Check
The claim's core allegation is well supported by two validated sources in this run: the official The BlockCo X post and the Odaily newsflash. Both specifically mention MARISKS, scam messages targeting ships or shipping firms near the Strait of Hormuz, and demands for payment in Bitcoin or USDT. The Reuters URL found via search strongly corroborates the same event and wording pattern, indicating the story likely originates from Reuters reporting on a MARISKS warning, though the Reuters page itself could not be fully validated from fetched content here. Confidence is only medium because the exact subclaim that 'hundreds of vessels and about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded' is only directly visible in the Odaily item within this run, not in a fully readable primary source.
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Summary

Reports said Iran approved a late-March law to charge oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz a $1-per-barrel transit fee, with payment options reportedly including Bitcoin, Tether’s USDT, and Chinese yuan, though no official legal text, approving body, or implementation details were provided. Marisks later reported that scammers impersonated Iranian officials and demanded Bitcoin or USDT from tankers within two weeks of the reported announcement, and said at least one tanker that paid a fake toll was later fired on by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on April 18. Mercuria Energy Trading’s shipping chief warned on April 22 that such a fee would set a dangerous precedent for global trade amid heightened regional shipping tensions. TRM Labs and Chainalysis said they found no evidence of large-scale cryptocurrency toll payments, indicating that while at least one vessel may have paid a fraudulent demand, broader on-chain payment activity has not been substantiated.

Terms & Concepts
  • Bitcoin: A decentralized digital currency that operates on a blockchain network without a central authority.
  • USDT: A stablecoin issued by Tether that is designed to maintain a value pegged to the U.S. dollar.
  • Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency designed to hold a stable value, commonly by linking it to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar.