Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin, spent roughly $120 million on two bitcoin mining sites in Uruguay that were ultimately abandoned after a dispute with the state utility over electricity supply, a Reuters review of documents and interviews has found.
A “perfect platform” that soured
In May 2023, Tether announced it would launch bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay, calling the country the “perfect platform” for its abundant renewable energy, without disclosing an investment value. It set up two sites in the rural department of Florida, spending roughly $60 million on each, according to a former Tether contractor.
The project was intended as a “first step” for Tether’s mining push across South America, serving as a testing ground before the company moved into bigger markets such as Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Tether has since announced mining investments in Brazil.
The dispute over power
The project began to unravel over a fundamental disagreement about electricity with state utility UTE. Tether believed a clause in its contract represented a minimum level of supply that could later be increased, while UTE treated the contracted amount as a maximum that could not be exceeded, a former contractor said.
The dispute had begun by November 2024. After a left-leaning government took office in March 2025 and appointed new UTE directors, the utility took a harder line on renegotiating. In May 2025 Tether’s local entity, Microfin, stopped paying its electricity bills and told UTE in June it would terminate its contracts. UTE cut power to the sites on July 25, and Tether told Uruguay’s labor authorities on November 25 that it would cease operations and lay off most staff. Microfin settled its outstanding debts in December.
Mining economics get harder
Tether did not respond to requests for comment. The collapse shows how the basic economics of bitcoin mining — turning cheap energy into crypto profits — have weakened after a pre-programmed “halving” of bitcoin rewards in April 2024 and a sharp drop in the cryptocurrency’s price from its 2025 peak.
Tether controls around $183 billion of stablecoin and has said it invests in a portfolio worth roughly $20 billion, including energy and mining. Pete Howson, an assistant professor at Northumbria University, described bitcoin mining’s “hypermobile” nature: “This plug-and-play infrastructure is very easy to do — literally pulling the plug and then move it to somewhere else.”
