Iran's Bitcoin Toll Plan Blocked by Liquidity Constraints
Tether froze ₱2.22 billion ($37 million) tied to Iran's central bank in 2025, exposing the country's vulnerability to censorship. Bitcoin Policy Institute analyst Sam Lyman argues Iran's plan to collect Bitcoin tolls from ships lacks the technical infrastructure to execute at scale.
Key Takeaway
Iran's Bitcoin toll plan exposes Lightning Network's liquidity limits and Tehran's desperation to escape stablecoin censorship.
Bitcoin Policy Institute analyst Sam Lyman says Iran's plan to collect Bitcoin for Strait of Hormuz passage is technically impossible under current network conditions.
Lyman's April 15 report challenges last week's Financial Times story claiming Iran started accepting Bitcoin from oil tankers. He said onchain data shows no Bitcoin moving at the scale needed to settle tanker tolls. The Lightning Network can't handle it either — routing that value through Lightning is virtually impossible given current liquidity constraints, Lyman said.
The Strait of Hormuz moves 21 million barrels of oil daily, roughly 20% of global supply. At ₱60 ($1) per barrel, a single supertanker would generate ₱120.17 million ($2 million) in toll revenue. The largest transaction ever recorded on Lightning was ₱60.08 million ($1 million). Bitcoin's 10-minute settlement window adds another layer of friction for ships trying to pay and move quickly.
Tether froze ₱2.22 billion ($37 million) connected to Iran's central bank this year, plus flagged 40 additional wallet addresses for sanctions exposure. That freeze highlights why Iran might pivot from dollar-backed stablecoins to Bitcoin — Tether can freeze wallets unilaterally, while Bitcoin operates on censorship-resistant rails. Iran's Central Bank also requires miners to sell Bitcoin holdings to the state, giving Tehran another control mechanism over domestic crypto flows.
Iran legalized Bitcoin mining in 2019 and once operated 427,000 mining machines at its peak, controlling 4% of global hashrate. Late last month, Iran's parliament approved the toll system plan. TRM Labs attributed ₱180.25 billion ($3 billion) in crypto-related flows to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since 2019.
This article was written based on reporting from Dlnews.
