Tether Exits Uruguay After Mining Talks With UTE Collapse
Tether, one of the world’s largest crypto firms, has officially withdrawn its Bitcoin mining operations from Uruguay after talks with state-owned power utility UTE collapsed. Local media report the company laid off 30 employees and filed the dismissals with the national labor ministry (MTSS), citing the failure to reach a power agreement.
The exit underscores tensions between large miners and national utilities over pricing, grid access and contract certainty; Uruguay had been positioning itself to attract mining projects using renewable capacity. While Tether’s stablecoin operations (USDT) are not affected, the shutdown is a setback for local jobs and for Uruguay’s push to become a regional mining hub, and may make other operators more cautious about entering markets where power terms remain unclear.