Iran and Oman finalize draft agreement to reopen Strait of Hormuz, with crypto toll payments on the table

Iranian and Omani negotiators have wrapped up a draft agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handles roughly 20% of global oil shipments, or about 20 million barrels per day. The deal, finalized around August 5, 2026, now sits on the desk of Iran’s Supreme Leader for final ratification. Buried in the framework is a provision that could allow toll payments denominated in cryptocurrency or the Chinese yuan, rather than exclusively in traditional fiat currencies. Bitcoin jumped more than $2,000 to climb back above $64,000 on reports of the deal’s progress. What the deal actually looks like The proposed arrangement is an interim 60-day framework focused on coordinating and monitoring tanker traffic through the strait. The agreement emerged from months of talks between April and July 2026, with US involvement and support reportedly expected to be formally announced around August 5-6. Oman, which shares the strait with Iran, has long served as a quiet diplomatic intermediary between Tehran and Washington. This draft follows the collapse of a more ambitious effort. A 14-point framework known as the Islamabad Memorandum, negotiated in June 2026, had inc...