Tether has closed down its Bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay after failed electricity rate talks, rising costs and contract issues.
Tether has just halted its Bitcoin mining work in Uruguay after a long period of disagreements over electricity rates.
The company said the shutdown came after months of talks with state officials. The rising energy prices made the project harder to support, yet Tether still plans to grow across Latin America, but the Uruguay chapter is coming to an end.
Tether halts Uruguay mining after rising power costs
Tether confirmed that it paused its mining operations
and alerted the Ministry of Labor. The meeting took place at the National Directorate of Labor in Montevideo.
During the talks, the company said the energy costs no longer worked for its mining setup. Tether also laid off 30 of its 38 workers in the country and only a small group stayed behind to manage the shutdown.
🚨 Tether Exits Uruguay!
The stablecoin giant confirms it’s shutting down its Bitcoin mining operations, citing unsustainable energy costs and a failure to secure competitive tariffs from the state utility (UTE).
A major strategic retreat from a planned $500M Latin American… pic.twitter.com/CIOvM9KBCL
— Conor Kenny (@conorfkenny) November 28, 2025
The company said it needed steady and fair electricity pricing to run a large mining site. It tried to renegotiate its deal with the state utility UTE, but the company wanted high voltage tariffs that would lower costs.
UTE turned down the request while talks continued, but no agreement came from the discussions. Tether eventually received warnings and had to prepare for a full withdrawal from the project.
Tether’s early plans for Uruguay and the spending involved
Tether entered Uruguay in 2023 with a plan to create sustainable Bitcoin mining powered by renewable energy.
The company said the country offered a mix of wind and hydro resources. It also partnered with a local operator that held the required mining licenses.
The company hinted that the project would be large. Reports from local media indicated a total planned spending of around $500 million.
While Tether did not confirm a final figure, local sources said the company used over $100 million for mining gear and another $50 million for infrastructure. These figures included a 300 MW renewable park and data center sites.
Tether saw Uruguay as a strong base for this type of mining because of its clean energy mix. Paolo Ardoino, who was the chief technology officer at the time, said the company wanted to lead in mining that uses renewable sources.
He also said Tether planned to support responsible crypto activity across the region.
Tether faces unpaid energy bills and pressure from local partners
The problems started last year, when Tether’s local partner failed to pay its power bills.
Reports showed around $5 million in unpaid charges and these included a $2 million electricity bill for UTE and another $2.8 million for other local work. UTE later cut electricity to two facilities because the payments remained overdue.
Local media said the company started reducing its presence once the disconnection happened. Rumours grew that Tether would leave Uruguay and the company denied a full exit at the time.
It also admitted the debt and said that it was working with officials to settle the matter. Despite this, the mining sites faced mounting strain from high power costs.
Uruguay’s energy prices ranged from $60 to $180 dollars per megawatt hour. These prices hurt mining profits and the company tried to switch to better rates, but UTE did not approve the change.
Without lower rates, the mining sites could not run at a level that made sense for the business.
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Tether confirms shutdown and moves its focus elsewhere
Tether relocated its main headquarters to El Salvador earlier this year. The country is known for backing Bitcoin and has passed rules that support similar activity.
This change came as the company struggled with Uruguay’s high energy costs. The firm said El Salvador offered a better setting for long-term crypto work.
The company also signed a deal with Adecoagro to start a mining project in Brazil. The plan aims to use renewable sources to run mining gear.
Tether is moving to El Salvador.
We will build our Tether Tower in San Salvador.
Many others will follow.
❤️🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/fm19zUfydr— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) January 15, 2025
Tether also bought Parfin, a digital asset custody company based in Latin America. This deal grew Tether’s service range in the region.
Tether noted that it continues to look for places that offer steady and fair energy prices. Uruguay does not fit that plan now and the company still supports renewable energy mining, but it prefers countries with friendlier conditions.