Iran’s parliament has passed a bill claiming sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handles roughly 20% of global oil trade. The legislation bans “hostile ships” from passage and codifies a toll system that accepts payment in yuan, Bitcoin, and stablecoins.

The crisis timeline

The roots of this legislation trace back to late February 2026, when Iran imposed a blockade on the strait. That move kicked off what’s now being called the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis. A ceasefire in June offered a brief reprieve. By early July, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps resumed aggressive operations in the waterway, targeting commercial vessels on what Tehran deemed “unapproved” routes.

On July 13, Iranian forces attacked commercial tankers, including UAE-owned vessels, killing at least one crew member.

During ceasefire periods reported in April 2026, Iran had already been extracting transit tolls of approximately $1 per barrel from passing vessels, accepted in yuan, Bitcoin, or stablecoins.

Why crypto is the real story here

Iran’s adoption of Bitcoin and stablecoins for sovereign transactions is unprecedented. Traditional banking channels are walled off by sanctions. By accepting digital currencies for maritime tolls, Tehran has built a sanctions-evasion mechanism into its sovereignty claims. Tether has historically frozen wallets associated with sanctioned entities, but the scale and state-backed nature of this use case is entirely different from previous incidents.

Competing tolls, competing claims

Former President Trump has proposed his own 20% toll on vessels transiting the strait, coinciding with re-imposed blockades as of July 2026. The competing toll proposals from Washington and Tehran over the same body of water underscore how contested this waterway has become.