US Blacklists Iranian Maritime Scheme Forcing Ships to Pay Bitcoin Tolls

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control has added two Iranian maritime insurance firms to its Specially Designated Nationals list, designating them as blocked counterparties for U.S. persons and transactions within or transiting the United States.

HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority and Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company were listed under Executive Order 13902 for operating in Iran's financial sector, with each entity subject to secondary sanctions.

The designation adds these two named entities to an existing sanctions-risk framework. HormuzSafe had previously been described as a Bitcoin-settled insurance proposal, accepting digital assets including BTC to bypass Western sanctions.