Iran launched Hormuz Safe, a state-backed maritime insurance platform that settles premiums in bitcoin, targeting shipping companies and cargo owners transiting the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency reported Saturday, citing documents obtained from Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.

The ministry had reportedly been developing the platform since late April. Coverage activates upon bitcoin blockchain confirmation, and a signed digital receipt is delivered to the cargo owner. Iran claims the program could generate more than $10 billion in revenue, though Fars provided no timeframe or breakdown, and no independent source has verified that the platform has processed any actual policies. The official website currently shows a “Coming Soon” page.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

The platform would operate entirely outside traditional banking channels and the SWIFT network, an arrangement that serves Iran’s sanctions-evasion calculus. Sam Lyman, research director at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, told Bitcoin Magazine: “No one can freeze it,” explaining why Bitcoin is attractive to a government under comprehensive U.S. Treasury sanctions. Any use of Hormuz Safe by international operators would pose significant compliance risks under OFAC rules.

Hormuz Safe formalizes what has been happening informally for months. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been charging crypto-denominated tolls for passage through the strait since mid-March, with fees reaching up to $2 million per tanker. In April, Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, told the Financial Times that shipping companies could settle Hormuz transit fees in bitcoin or other non-dollar currencies, including yuan. Iran’s parliament passed the Strait of Hormuz Management Plan in March, codifying the transit toll system the IRGC had been operating.

The Strait of Hormuz handles an estimated 20% of global oil trade. President Trump escalated the crisis Sunday with a TruthSocial post warning Iran that “the Clock is Ticking” and “there won’t be anything left of them.” The Kobeissi Letter reported Sunday night that U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hit 4.63%, the highest since February 2025, up 70 basis points since the Iran war began.

Iran legalized industrial bitcoin mining in 2019 and at its peak ran as much as 4.2% of global hashrate. Whether Hormuz Safe becomes an operational revenue tool or remains a signaling exercise depends on whether cargo operators are willing to accept the sanctions exposure.