Tether’s growth into Bitcoin mining in Uruguay has run into a serious setback after the state-owned electrical energy supplier UTE suspended service to the stablecoin operator’s two mining services over unpaid payments of roughly $5 million. The disruption, confirmed on July 25, 2025, comes solely two years after Tether unveiled the Bitcoin mining mission within the South American nation, citing a wealthy provide of renewable vitality sources.
Tether’s Operational Fallout With Rising Energy Bill
According to native media Busqueda, the cost defaults by Tether started in May 2025. By June, UTE’s president, Andrea Cabrera, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microfin, the native operator tied to the mining mission, in an effort to barter a settlement. However, after arrears continued to mount, UTE invoked customary procedures, utilizing safety deposits earlier than suspending energy provide on the mining websites in Flores and Florida on July 25.
The energy minimize produces speedy operational penalties, compromising the services’ computing nodes and lowering hash price output, whereas slowing down common growth objectives. Meanwhile, restarting the websites can even incur extra prices, from renegotiating contracts to restoring technical capability. And even such processes usually require weeks, relying on the ensures provided and compliance with regulatory protocols.
Tether entered Uruguay in 2023 with plans to leverage the nation’s renewable vitality profile by its “Tether Energy” initiative. Uruguay generates roughly 95% of its electrical energy from non-fossil sources, making it some of the engaging jurisdictions globally for “low-carbon” industrial exercise. The mission was positioned as a step towards diversifying Tether’s enterprise mannequin past stablecoin issuance, with ambitions to ultimately safe 1% of Bitcoin’s international hash price.
Back in 2023, the corporate’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, stated concerning the mission:
By harnessing the facility of Bitcoin and Uruguay’s renewable vitality capabilities, Tether is main the way in which in sustainable and accountable Bitcoin mining; Our unwavering dedication to renewable vitality ensures that each Bitcoin we mine leaves a minimal ecological footprint whereas upholding the safety and integrity of the Bitcoin community. Tether is proud to spearhead a motion that mixes cutting-edge know-how, sustainable practices, and monetary innovation
Following the current revelations by the Uruguayan media, neither Tether nor Microfin has but to disclose their official place.
USDT Reaches New Market Cap High At $171.5 Billion
In different information, Tether’s stablecoin USDT has attained a brand new market cap worth of $171.5 billion, strengthening its dominant market place. Presently, USDT now accounts for 58.9% of the stablecoins market whereas remaining the fourth largest cryptocurrency on the earth.

Featured picture from Flickr, chart from Tradingview

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