Iran launches Bitcoin maritime insurance platform "HormuzSafe," claiming annual revenue can exceed $10 billion

Original Title: Iran Launches Bitcoin Marine Insurance Platform “HormuzSafe,” Covering the Strait of Hormuz, Claimed to Generate Over $10 Billion in Annual Revenue
Original Author: Claude, Deep潮 TechFlow

Deep潮 Intro: Iran’s Ministry of Economy has launched a Bitcoin settlement marine insurance platform called “Hormuz Safe,” offering “cryptographic verified insurance policies” to Iranian shipowners and cargo owners transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian official media says the platform can generate more than $10 billion in annual revenue.

However, whether the platform is truly in operation has not been independently verified. The high volatility of Bitcoin, compliance risks related to U.S. sanctions, and the controversial background of the behind-the-scenes operator Babak Zanjani all pose serious challenges to its feasibility. This is Iran’s most notable attempt to turn military control over the Strait of Hormuz into a crypto-financial product.

Iran is trying to turn one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints into a Bitcoin-settled insurance market.

According to a May 18 report by Bloomberg, Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars, citing a document from the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, said Iran has launched a Bitcoin-supported maritime insurance service called “Hormuz Safe,” targeting Iranian shipping companies and cargo owners that want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Fars said the plan could create more than $10 billion in revenue for Iran, but it did not provide a timeline or operational details.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28, Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz. In peacetime, the strait carries about 20% of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 20% of liquefied natural gas exports.

Since then, the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been seeking to formalize control over the waterway, including charging tolls and other fees. Insurance services are the latest link in its revenue-generation toolkit.

Cryptographic verified policies, with instant Bitcoin settlement

According to a screenshot of the “Hormuz Safe” website shared by Fars, the platform claims to provide Iranian shipping companies and cargo owners with “fast, verifiable digital insurance.” As reported by Bitcoin Magazine, coverage includes risks such as vessel inspections, detentions, and confiscations, but excludes claims for war-related damage.

Fars quotes the description on the website hormuzsafe.ir, saying the platform will provide “cryptographically verifiable insurance policies” for cargo passing through the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and surrounding waters, with payments settled in Bitcoin. The cargo is covered from the moment it is confirmed via the blockchain, and cargo owners will receive a signed receipt. The website currently appears inaccessible outside Iran.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Iran’s Ministry of Economy has been pushing the insurance plan since late April (beginning of the Persian month Ordibehesht). In April, Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for the Iran Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Exporters Union, told the Financial Times that shipping companies can settle tolls for passing through the Strait of Hormuz using non-U.S. dollar currencies such as Bitcoin or Chinese yuan.

Acceleration of institutionalization: from tolls to an insurance platform

Hormuz Safe is not an isolated initiative; it is the latest component of Iran’s broader institutional framework built around the Strait of Hormuz.

As reported by Bitcoin Magazine, in March 2026 Iran’s parliament passed the “Strait of Hormuz Management Plan,” formally legislating the toll system operated by the IRGC since mid-March. Under this framework, the IRGC charges fees to ships passing through the strait; operators must submit information including vessel ownership, cargo type, destination, and crew details, and then obtain a passage permit code.

Tolls start at about $1 per barrel of oil, and the highest fee for a fully loaded tanker could reach $2 million, with payments accepted in RMB.

On May 18, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced the official establishment of the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” (PGSA) and opened an official account on the X platform.

According to Euronews, the agency is positioned as an administrative entity that manages traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and collects tolls, operating in coordination with the IRGC Navy.

Ships must submit complete information—including ownership, insurance, crew lists, cargo declarations, and planned routes—through the PGSA official email, and only after approval and payment will they receive a passage permit.

Ebrahim Azizi, chair of Iran’s Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, said on X that only commercial ships cooperating with Iran can benefit from the mechanism, and parties involved in U.S.-Israel military actions will be barred from using the route.

According to Windward intelligence analysis, as of May 18, the strait’s transit volume remains only about 38% of pre-conflict levels, with the central Qeshm-Larak anchorage showing dark vessel tracking lock for six consecutive days. Approximately 369 IRGC fast boats are concentrated in a single area about 30 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, shifting from coastal patrols to the main body of the strait.

Volatility, sanction risks, and a shadow of fraud

Multiple analysts have cast doubt on the actual viability of Hormuz Safe.

Bloomberg noted that unlike stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile, and its adoption as a payment method has long been limited. Foreign shipowners may be reluctant to use the mechanism due to concerns about violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Ryan Yoon, a senior analyst at Tiger Research, told Decrypt that the platform’s technical and legal feasibility is “highly questionable.” Although it has been announced, no actual users have yet been confirmed. Shipping companies using Hormuz Safe face the risk of being “immediately expelled from the global financial system.”

Vikrant Sharma, CEO of Cake Wallet, told BeInCrypto that while Bitcoin can reduce some payment frictions, it is not a clean path to bypass the sanctions system. Liquidity at the scale of maritime insurance is a limiting factor. Activity on public blockchains can be monitored, and any trading platform, broker, custodian, or trading counterpart linked to the U.S. dollar creates compliance risks.

Sam Lyman, research director at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, explained Iran’s logic from another angle: the core appeal of Bitcoin lies in the fact that “no one can freeze it.”

According to Decrypt, since the outbreak of war, numerous crypto “secure toll” scams have emerged. Scammers impersonate Iranian authorities and demand Bitcoin or USDT from vessel operators. Hormuz Safe appears to be a nation-level plan, but the line between what is real and what is fake is extremely blurred in the current environment.

The bigger picture: Iran building a de-dollarized maritime finance system

According to data from Bitcoin Magazine, in 2025 the estimated size of Iran’s crypto ecosystem reached $7.8 billion, with transactions associated with the IRGC accounting for about 50% of the country’s total crypto trading volume (as of Q4 2025). The Iranian government has used mined Bitcoin to fund imports and hedge against losses in oil revenue; according to reports, the national mining cost is about $1,300 per coin.

CoinDesk’s analysis is fairly precise: the insurance architecture is more ingenious than directly collecting tolls. On paper, cargo owners are not paying for passage; instead, they are buying insurance and financial liability certificates for navigating waters that Tehran claims can ensure safety. This allows Iran to monetize its geographic advantages in a more packaged way.

A comment by Hacker News user everdrive received high votes in the tech community: after World War II, part of the U.S.-led world order was built on the basis that the U.S. military keeps international waters open. Iran’s successful challenge at this level is shocking. Everyone knows Iran has the ability to close the strait when pushed into a corner, but the appearance of this outcome still exposes serious policy-level mistakes.

No matter whether Hormuz Safe ultimately can operate at scale, the signal it sends is clear: Iran is building a complete set of political governance and financial infrastructure around the Strait of Hormuz, turning a military blockade into a sustainable sovereign income mechanism, and Bitcoin serves as the settlement layer for this system.

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