Iran has established what amounts to a formalized toll system at the Strait of Hormuz, accepting Chinese yuan and crypto – specifically stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies – as payment for naval escort through the waterway, according to a Bloomberg report published April 1.

The system, administered through an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked intermediary, assigns each nation a friendliness ranking of one to five and requires vessel operators to submit documentation for geopolitical vetting before receiving a VHF-broadcast passcode and IRGC Navy escort. At least two vessels have already paid in yuan, with oil tanker fees reportedly opening at $1 per barrel.

We suspect this represents something structurally…