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What the reports say about the proposed passage charges
On April 8, 2026, the Associated Press reported that Iran was seeking the right to collect tolls as a condition for reopening the Strait and that vessels were being vetted. The report said at least two vessels had reportedly paid the equivalent of $2 million in Chinese yuan under the earlier arrangement. That figure is not evidence of a Bitcoin payment.
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April coverage also described a proposed charge of $1 per barrel in cryptocurrency, as reported by the Financial Times and summarized in contemporaneous reporting. Treat that as a reported proposal—not a verified, uniform tariff or proof that the charge was collected in Bitcoin. The public evidence described here does not establish a complete set of Bitcoin transactions or a total amount collected.
How the reported claims differ
| Date | Actor or source | Payment or claim | What the evidence establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Associated Press reporting on Iran’s proposed passage arrangements | Reported payments equivalent to $2 million in Chinese yuan by at least two vessels; separate coverage described a proposed $1-per-barrel cryptocurrency fee. | Reported payments and a proposal, not proof of completed Bitcoin toll payments by all vessels. |
| May 21, 2026 | Ambrey Analytics | Fraudulent emails demanded cryptocurrency worth millions and sometimes requested crew information. | Ambrey documented impersonation messages; it said it had seen no evidence of payment to the example wallets it reviewed. |
| May 25, 2026 | Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, speaking to ABC News | Denied that Iran was charging a toll while acknowledging that navigation and ecosystem-preservation services have costs. | Iran’s public position, not a resolution of what vessels were charged. |
| July 29, 2026 | U.S. Treasury | Alleged that Hormuz Safe accepted Bitcoin and other digital assets as part of an IRGC-backed maritime-insurance scheme. | A U.S. government allegation and designation action, not an independently audited account of completed passage payments. |
| September 18, 2026 | U.S. Treasury announcement as reported by CoinDesk | Treasury designated Iranian digital-asset infrastructure; CoinDesk reported Treasury’s allegation that BitBank handled some Hormuz Safe collections and transfers. | A later sanctions-related allegation about payment routing, attributed to Treasury; it does not establish how many ships paid. |
Iran denied charging a toll
On May 25, 2026, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told ABC News: “There is no toll. We need to pay attention to the words we use. We’re not after money.” He also said: “It’s only natural that the services we provide, like navigation and the preservation of the ecosystem of the Strait, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will have costs.”
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Those statements describe Iran’s public account: it rejected the term “toll” but said certain services would carry costs. They do not independently confirm or disprove the charges described in earlier reports.
What the U.S. Treasury alleged about digital-asset insurance
In a July 29, 2026 release, the U.S. Treasury described Hormuz Safe as an Iranian digital-insurance firm developed by the Ministry of Economy that accepted Bitcoin and other digital assets. Treasury characterized the arrangement as part of an IRGC-backed scheme involving mandatory maritime insurance. This is the U.S. government’s allegation; it should not be conflated with the April proposal or treated as an independently verified count of ships paying Bitcoin to transit.
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In a September 18 report, CoinDesk said Treasury alleged that BitBank handled some Hormuz Safe collections and transfers. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quoted as saying: “Today’s designations of Iranian digital asset infrastructure make perfectly clear that efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC’s reach.” The statement accompanied Treasury’s designations; it does not provide an audited total of payments.
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Ambrey Analytics’ May 21, 2026 threat circular described fraudulent messages impersonating Iranian authorities and demanding cryptocurrency for Strait of Hormuz transit authorization. Ambrey reported demands ranging from $1 million to $2 million, including examples of $1.3 million and $1 million after an earlier $2 million demand. Some messages also sought sensitive crew details.
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Ambrey said it had not seen evidence that payments were made to the wallets in the examples it reviewed. That finding applies to those messages and wallets; it does not settle whether other alleged or official arrangements collected money. A payment request arriving by email should therefore not be treated as proof of an authorized charge. Shipping operators should verify instructions through established company procedures and trusted official channels before sending funds or crew data.
Why the dispute matters beyond Bitcoin
The Strait is a major oil route: the Associated Press said it carries about 20% of the world’s oil. AP also noted that imposing transit tolls would conflict with freedom of peaceful navigation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which took effect in 1994. Neither Iran nor the United States had ratified the convention, according to AP. That is legal context for the reported toll dispute, not a comprehensive ruling on later insurance charges.
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What is—and is not—established
The reporting supports several distinct claims: an April proposal for cryptocurrency-linked passage charges; reports of yuan payments; Iran’s later denial that it charged a toll; Treasury’s subsequent allegations about digital-asset insurance and payment routing; and Ambrey’s documentation of impersonation scams. These are different actors, payment methods and kinds of evidence.
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The available public information does not establish an independently audited number of completed Bitcoin toll payments or their total value. In particular, the reported yuan payments, a proposed generic cryptocurrency fee, Treasury’s allegations about Bitcoin-accepting insurance, and fraudulent email demands should not be collapsed into one claim that ships routinely paid Bitcoin to cross the Strait.
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