Iran demands Bitcoin fees for ships passing Hormuz during ceasefire

Post by euroderf » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 7:03 PM UTC

wongarsu wrote: post #188

snickerbockers wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The democrats deserve a fair share of the blame for that just for their having created and maintained the two-party duopoly along with the Republicans. At the very least its not the voters fault if the only viable alternative to the Republicans is constantly rigging (or in this case straight-up bypassing ) their own primaries to put corrupt party insiders at the forefront.

The root cause is the first-past-the-post voting system that ensures a two-party system. But for the party with the most responsibility for blowing it all up I'd like to nominate Rupert Murdoch. Most visibly with Fox News, but really his entire media empire

Post by viewtransform » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 7:06 PM UTC

konschubert wrote: post #179

fernandopj wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I follow your logic, but one could argue this campaign with drones and cheaper missiles taught Iran it doesn't even need a nuclear deterrent anymore. Between this and Ukraine, the logic of a nuclear warhead deterrent might be considered a paradigm relic from 20th century.

This is false. If Trump had chosen to nuke Iranian cities, Iran would have had no recourse without a proper nuclear bomb.

Post by cheriot » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 7:20 PM UTC

kilgoresalmon wrote: post #194

cheriot wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect more fighting in Lebanon means less oil through Hormuz. Iran kept its definition of "open" vague. Everyone is keeping the pressure up during negotiations.

Maybe I'm just cynical but I have to assume someone will test the extent Iran can hold them to a payment if it doesn't want to stop maintaining the terms of the ceasefire to back up the demand? (Edit- missing negative)

Post by HWR_14 » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 7:25 PM UTC

sanskritical wrote: post #141

deweller wrote: post #120

A "few seconds" to pay in bitcoin? So the captain is supposed to be watching for a response via email with his finger hovering over the pay button? Is the recipient address static? Surely they would use unique payment addresses if they have any hope of obfuscating payments. This all sounds more like a TV show script than an actual thought-out plan to me.

Presumably these are lightning invoices, which can resolve in milliseconds.

Post by alphager » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 7:38 PM UTC

M_bara wrote: post #138

bradleyankrom wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found Al Jazeera's (English) coverage of the region to be informative. YMMV.

Honestly, it’s a good counter to get both sides of the coin. At the moment you’ll find BBC, CNN, NYT et al on one end and Al Jazeera on the other. I also look at DW for a more balanced approach. Don’t consume from one camp!