Tether’s Bitcoin mining in Uruguay has been halted after the state utility cut power over a $5M unpaid energy bill, crippling operations and hash rate output. Despite the setback, USDT’s market cap has climbed to a record $171.5B.

Tether has halted its Bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay after a protracted dispute over energy pricing and millions of dollars in unpaid power and service bills owed to the state utility, effectively shutting down its local hash rate and workforce while it reassesses the viability of its planned $500 million investment in the country. Local reports indicate that Uruguay’s state electricity company UTE cut power over roughly $4.8–5 million in outstanding electricity and related service charges, leading Tether to suspend operations, notify the Ministry of Labor, and lay off around 30 staff as the projects became uneconomic under prevailing tariffs. Tether had announced “sustainable” Bitcoin mining in Uruguay in May 2023, attracted by the country’s largely renewable energy mix and initially lower costs, and had reportedly already spent over $100 million on mining and another $50 million on infrastructure under a broader $500 million plan that included a 300 MW wind and solar park. However, from late 2023 onward, rising energy prices, the lack of a special competitive tariff Tether had been seeking since November 2023, and accumulating unpaid bills sparked a dispute with UTE that made large‑scale mining financially unsustainable, prompting the shutdown despite earlier denials that the company would exit Uruguay. The halt matters for several reasons: it highlights the operational and regulatory risks of industrial‑scale Bitcoin mining even for a major stablecoin issuer, underscores how energy pricing and policy can quickly erode mining economics, and raises questions about the feasibility of tying large mining footprints to renewable grids in emerging markets. At the same time, Tether’s core business has not been visibly affected; USDT’s market capitalization has continued to climb to record highs, reinforcing the separation between its dollar‑pegged token’s demand dynamics and the performance of its ancillary mining and energy ventures. "entities":["Tether","USDT","Bitcoin (BTC)","UTE (Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas)","Uruguay’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS)","El Observador","Microfin","ForkLog","Bitcoinist"]}`

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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