Chainalysis: Shippers risk sanctions for paying Iran in crypto

Chainalysis warned that shipping companies routing transit payments to Iran in cryptocurrency could violate U.S. and international sanctions. Kaitlin Martin, senior intelligence analyst at Chainalysis, cautioned that any payments ultimately benefiting the Iranian regime or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may be interpreted as material support and expose companies to enforcement actions.

Under current measures, the IRGC is subject to sanctions by multiple jurisdictions and Iran faces broad U.S. restrictions. Chainalysis said routing tolls or other transit payments in digital assets would increase legal risk for firms that conduct or facilitate those transfers.

Reports say Iran may seek to collect transit fees for ships passing through key waterways and could accept cryptocurrency, though Tehran has not confirmed a plan to charge tolls in digital assets. U.S. officials, including former President Donald Trump, have expressed opposition to attempts by Tehran to impose shipping tolls.

Chainalysis emphasized that cryptocurrency is not a simple workaround for sanctions. Blockchain transactions leave permanent, public records that investigators can trace to cash-out points where assets may be frozen or seized. “In many ways, cryptocurrency is actually easier to trace than traditional methods of sanctions evasion,” Martin observed.

The firm noted Tehran has expanded use of digital assets, particularly stablecoins, to support trade in oil, weapons and other commodities. Chainalysis also pointed to examples of other sanctioned states using digital tokens to facilitate cross-border trade, citing Russia’s use of tokens such as A7A5 after sanctions were imposed in 2022.

Separately, Chainalysis reported Iran’s Bitcoin mining power fell by about 7 exahashes per second over the past quarter to roughly 2 EH/s. The decline was concentrated inside Iran; neighboring states including the United Arab Emirates and Oman were not affected. The global Bitcoin network’s total hashrate remained near 1,000 EH/s.

Legal and compliance advisers say shipping companies that consider digital payments should perform sanctions screening, legal review and transaction monitoring. Firms that fail to detect or block flows linked to sanctioned entities could face enforcement actions, asset freezes or other penalties under U.S. and international sanctions regimes.