According to Sam Lyman, head of research at the digital asset support organization Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), the Iranian government is calling Bitcoin (BTC) a payment method for ships carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Lyman told Cointelegraph that the government chose BTC as one of the toll payment methods because of its censorship-resistant properties. He said:

“This is one of the most important situations where Bitcoin is clearly a strategic asset. The reason Iran wants to use Bitcoin for these transactions is because no one can freeze Bitcoin. No one can shut down the Bitcoin network.”

Iran accepts oil payments in Chinese yuan, US dollar-denominated stablecoins and BTC. However, so far there is “no onchain evidence” of BTC toll payments, Lyman said, adding that “most” Iranian crypto transactions are denominated in dollar stablecoins.

The Iranian government’s statement underscores why U.S. lawmakers should recognize and treat Bitcoin as a strategic asset, rather than taking a hostile regulatory stance towards it or rejecting the digital asset altogether, Lyman told Cointelegraph.

Related: Bitcoin community weighs in on reports of crypto fees in Iran for oil ships

Stablecoin confiscation is simply a cost of doing business

“Iran has had a digital asset strategy for several years, starting around 2018, and most of the transactions that take place there are in USDt,” Lyman said. USDt is a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether.

He said the Iranian government is using stablecoins despite the ability of stablecoin issuers to freeze wallets. “I think they’re rolling the dice,” Lyman told Cointelegraph.

He said that as of 2022, the Iranian government was able to move about $3 billion in cryptocurrencies, with “most” of that value denominated in stablecoins.

However, according to Lyman, the U.S. Treasury was only able to freeze assets worth about $600 million.

“They were able to move $3 billion and only $600 million was frozen. They were still able to move about $2.4 billion. So I think stablecoins are still the preferred solution for the regime,” he said.

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