# Tether exits Uruguay Bitcoin mining after UTE clash > A Reuters investigation published 21 August 2026 reconstructs how Tether's Microfin unit abandoned ~$120M in Uruguay Bitcoin mining sites after a power fight with state utility UTE. - **Source:** https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-08-22-tether-uruguay-mining-ute-exit/ - **Published:** 2026-08-22 - **Category:** News - **Author:** Mateo - **Tags:** tether, bitcoin, mining, energy, renewable, latam - **Also published in:** [Español](https://ptycoin.com/es/posts/2026-08-22-tether-uruguay-mining-ute-exit/) --- **Tether** abandoned two Bitcoin mining sites in Uruguay after state utility **UTE** cut power in July 2025, a [Reuters investigation published 21 August 2026](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/how-tethers-bitcoin-mining-plans-uruguay-unraveled-2026-08-21/) reconstructs from documents and interviews. A former contractor put spending at roughly **$60 million per site**, about **$120 million** across the Florida-department facilities run through local unit **Microfin**. Tether and Microfin did not comment to Reuters. ## What Tether promised in Uruguay In **May 2023**, Tether publicly pitched Uruguay as the "perfect platform" for renewable-powered Bitcoin mining: a stable grid, abundant wind and hydro, political calm, and a tax setup it liked. The plan was a South American springboard before bigger pushes into Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Two sites went up in the **Florida** department, near farmland and wind turbines. A February 2024 company video showed mining halls with crypto-themed road names such as "Memepool Avenue" and "Halving Street." Local coverage from [El Observador](https://www.elobservador.com.uy/economia-y-empresas/gigante-cripto-tether-anuncio-que-se-va-uruguay-altos-costos-energia-n6017714) earlier described a wider ambition of up to **$500 million**, including a third processing center and a large wind-and-solar park that never arrived. What actually got built and powered was the Florida pair. ## How the UTE contract broke The core fight was over how much electricity the contract allowed. Per Reuters, Microfin treated a contracted figure as a **minimum** that could grow with demand; UTE treated it as a hard **maximum**. An internal UTE briefing reviewed by the reporters shows the sides were already stuck by **November 2024**. As the sites drew more load, they sometimes sat short of power for days. Politics hardened the standoff. A left-leaning government took office in **March 2025** and installed new UTE directors who took a firmer line on renegotiation. Around **May 2025**, Microfin stopped paying electricity bills. In **June**, it told UTE it would terminate the contracts. A last salvage package (revised paperwork plus a memorandum of understanding that UTE's board had approved) collapsed when Tether representatives did not attend the signing, Reuters reports. UTE cut power to both sites on **25 July 2025**. Microfin later settled outstanding debts in **December**. On **25 November 2025**, Tether notified Uruguay's labor authorities it would cease operations and lay off most staff (local reporting put the cut at about **30 of 38** workers), which [El Observador](https://www.elobservador.com.uy/economia-y-empresas/gigante-cripto-tether-confirmo-al-ministerio-trabajo-cese-operaciones-uruguay-y-despido-30-trabajadores-n6025991) covered at the time. Secondary write-ups such as [Cryptopolitan](https://www.cryptopolitan.com/tether-quits-uruguay-mining-power-clash/) largely track the Reuters timeline. ## Why this lands differently than Adecoagro in Brazil Mining is hypermobile: racks move, and a country can lose the load overnight when the power math fails. Uruguay's grid is clean and reliable, but its industrial tariffs are not the rock-bottom rates large miners chase after the April 2024 halving and weaker coin prices. Reuters quotes experts who say the same renewable footprint may suit AI or high-performance computing better than ASIC farms that live or die on cents per kilowatt-hour. That contrast matters next door. In the same month UTE cut Microfin's power, Tether deepened a Brazil path with agribusiness **Adecoagro**: a bagasse-powered pilot in Mato Grosso do Sul that we tracked from [announcement](/en/posts/2026-06-26-adecoagro-tether-sugarcane-bitcoin-mining-brazil/) through the [July 1 start](/en/posts/2026-07-01-adecoagro-tether-sugarcane-bitcoin-mining-live/). Colocating miners on surplus mill electricity is a different bet from buying grid power from a state monopoly under a disputed cap. USDT still dominates everyday dollar-token use across Latin America for remittances, savings, and settlement; the Uruguay exit is about physical hashrate economics, not about the stablecoin leaving the region's wallets. For Uruguay, the episode is a caution for any large flexible load that needs a predictable, scalable tariff, not only crypto. For Brazil and other neighbors courting miners, it is a reminder that "renewable" and "cheap enough for ASICs" are separate claims. ## Takeaway Reuters' 21 August 2026 reconstruction closes the book on Tether's Uruguay mining chapter: two Florida sites, a Microfin–UTE fight over min-versus-max power, a July 2025 cutoff, staff layoffs, and roughly **$120 million** in sunk build-out with little lasting local footprint. The company's regional mining story did not end; it shifted toward projects that own or sit on surplus generation, starting with Adecoagro's sugarcane pilot. If you follow Tether's physical bets in Latin America, treat Uruguay as the failed grid-purchase template and Brazil's mill-colocated model as the live one until the next public milestone. This is reporting on infrastructure outcomes, not advice to buy, sell, or mine any asset. --- ## Keep reading - [Bull Bitcoin: privacy-first self-custody with LatAm rails](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-08-21-bull-bitcoin-mobile-wallet/index.md): Bull Bitcoin's open-source BULL wallet is self-custodial Bitcoin with Liquid Instant Payments, optional LatAm buy/sell rails, and no co-signing—plus a live caveat after Boltz paused swaps. - [Muun: Buenos Aires self-custody for Bitcoin and Lightning](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-08-07-muun-argentina-bitcoin-lightning-wallet/index.md): Muun is the Buenos Aires-built self-custodial Bitcoin wallet that pairs a 2-of-2 multisig model with Lightning payments, an Emergency Kit, and open-source Android and iOS clients. - [El Salvador's amended Bitcoin Law: what the rules mean for users and businesses today](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-06-18-el-salvador-bitcoin-law-five-years-on/index.md): Five years on, El Salvador's 2025 IMF-driven reform made merchant acceptance of Bitcoin voluntary and ended tax payments in BTC. What the framework now requires — and what it still leaves open. --- Source: PTYcoin — https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-08-22-tether-uruguay-mining-ute-exit/. Free to read and cite with attribution to ptycoin.com. AI-usage terms: https://ptycoin.com/en/ai-usage/