According to reports from the British media Financial Times and Xinhua News Agency, among others, on April 8, 2026 (yesterday):

I. Core Content (Latest)

- Subject: Iran Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Products Exporters Union (OPEX, closely linked to the government)
- Time: During the US-Iran two-week ceasefire (temporary measure)
- Location: Strait of Hormuz
- Fee payer: Fully loaded oil tankers (empty tankers are free)
- Standard: $1 per barrel of crude oil — for a 2 million-barrel supertanker: about $2 million per trip
- Payment method: Bitcoin (BTC) only — requirement: complete the on-chain transfer within a few seconds
- Purpose: to evade sanctions—without being frozen or tracked
- Stance: no payment → no guaranteed safe passage

II. Why Use Bitcoin?

- Iran is cut off from SWIFT, so USD/EUR can’t be used
- Bitcoin is decentralized, has no intermediaries, and is hard to freeze
- It directly bypasses the US’s financial hegemony

III. Supplement: Tiered Charging (Rumor)

- Friendly countries such as China and Russia: discounts/free of charge
- The EU and Japan & South Korea (neutral): full payment
- Hostile countries such as the US and Israel: no passage allowed

In simple terms:
During the ceasefire period, Iran “opens” the Strait of Hormuz, but requires tankers to pay tolls in Bitcoin ($1 per barrel) to evade sanctions and realize strategic value.