Tether hit a snag in Uruguay, and it wasn’t just a glitch in the blockchain.
The country’s state electric company, UTE, pulled the plug on two of Tether’s Bitcoin mining operations after unpaid electricity bills racked up to nearly $5 million.
Tether’s debt
Imagine that, millions of dollars worth of digital gold mining brought to a screeching halt because someone forgot to pay the power bill. Welcome to crypto mining, where energy consumption is as thirsty as a desert cactus.
The blackout landed back in July, after Tether’s electric tab ballooned far beyond the guarantee amount, forcing UTE’s hand.
Between two mining sites, one in Flores and one in Florida, Tether’s outstanding debt hit about $4.8 million, without counting fines.
Their monthly electricity bill? $2 million. It’s like running a small country, but with servers and GPUs.
Before the lights went out, Tether tried to negotiate their way out. They dangled plans for a new mining plant and pushed hard for discounted energy rates to trim costs. But then payments began to falter, turning lofty proposals into empty promises.
Even after June’s memorandum of understanding, signed with UTE’s president Andrea Cabrera to keep up payments, Tether still missed the mark. So, the power cut was inevitable.
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New mining adventure in Brazil
When Tether first plugged into Uruguay’s grid in May 2023, experts say Paolo Ardoin, their tech manager, praised the power system as strong and reliable, perfect for Bitcoin mining’s monstrous electricity appetite. Unfortunately, admiration doesn’t pay the bills.
With Uruguay’s electricity door shutting, Tether packed their bags and shuffled mining operations to Brazil.
On July 3, they inked a memorandum with Adecoagro, a company where they hold significant interests, aiming to fuse agriculture, energy, and tech in their new mining adventure powered by renewable energy. Move over, coal, solar and wind are the new miners in town.
Giant energy bills
This shuffle is about survival amid tightening crypto regulations. The GENIUS Act, effective since July 2025, dropped a regulatory handbook on stablecoins like Tether, covering everything from issuer rules and reserve mandates to tax treatments.
It’s the government’s way of adding a dash of sanity and investor confidence to the raucous stablecoin market.
As industry commentators shared, Tether’s blackout in Uruguay exposes the raw challenges of crypto mining, giant energy bills and tightening regulatory screws.
Yet, their pivot to greener pastures and the emergence of laws like the GENIUS Act spotlight a future where mining might be cleaner, more sustainable, and less reliant on unpaid power plays.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
