I just came across a noteworthy geopolitical and financial development. Iran has come up with a new play for the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy lifeline—charging transit fees in stablecoins, while directly bypassing the US dollar system.

In early April, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Calib Abadi, publicly confirmed it. In simple terms: super-large oil tankers passing through the strait have to pay Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), but they accept only two payment methods—Renminbi transfers or digital assets like USDT that are pegged to the dollar. This system was technically deployed as early as the end of March, and Iran’s National Security Council also passed legislation authorizing it on March 30.

What’s interesting is that Iran has also introduced differentiated pricing. According to a report cited by Bloomberg, the transit fee starts at $0.5 per barrel and is split into 5 tiers. China and Russia—like allies—get the lowest rates at $0.5–0.7 per barrel, with dedicated channels. Friendly countries such as India and Pakistan pay $0.8–0.9 per barrel. Neutral countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America pay $1 per barrel. High-risk but not directly hostile countries such as Japan, South Korea, and EU countries pay $1.2–1.5 per barrel, and also face longer inspection times. As for the US, Israel, and their allies? They’re banned outright.

The logic behind this runs deep. Traditional international shipping depends on the SWIFT system and a network of correspondent banks—so any transaction involving Iran can trigger US Treasury sanctions. But by using the Renminbi cross-border payment system together with public-chain networks, Iran can bypass US monitoring. This is the first time a sovereign nation has incorporated stablecoins into strategic-level payment infrastructure—not like El Salvador’s symbolic move of treating Bitcoin as legal tender, where the act is largely just symbolic. Iran’s setup is at real commercial scale.

The Strait of Hormuz carries 21% of the world’s crude oil transport; dozens of ships pass through on an average day. If this mechanism keeps operating, it’s estimated that more than $20 billion in stablecoins could flow through digital wallets controlled by Iran. This creates a gray liquidity pool under sovereign protection.

But the risks are also obvious. The International Association of Maritime Insurance has warned that paying the IRGC could trigger EU and UK sanctions compliance risks, leading to policies being invalidated. Shipowners are now stuck in a dilemma: either reroute via the Cape of Good Hope, adding 15 days of voyage time and tens of thousands of dollars in fuel costs; or use digital assets to pay, while facing the risk of accounts being frozen. Some merchants have started exploring a new route through Pakistani intermediaries. Islamabad has just announced that it will allow 20 international oil tankers to operate under Pakistan’s jurisdiction—effectively opening an outsourced “hiring” channel for the Iranian system.

One detail is worth thinking about: Russia previously rolled out a similar differentiated-fee policy for the Northern Sea Route and also considered accepting digital-asset payments. This shows geopolitics is re-encoding itself through digital-finance logic. When merchant vessels settle USDT via blockchain protocols at Kish Island port, it’s not just a transit-fee transaction—it is systematically dismantling the leftover infrastructure of the Bretton Woods system.

Of course, this experiment is also fragile. USDT/USDC are still pegged to the dollar and are under OFAC monitoring, so when the IRGC exchanges digital assets for physical currency or its local currency (rial), it remains a risk point. Still, as long as Iran controls the geopolitical monopoly of the Strait of Hormuz, this financial war mediated by digital assets will keep rewriting the rulebook for global energy trade. The underlying function relationship—the interaction between geopolitical advantage and financial innovation—is profoundly changing the underlying logic of international commerce.