In short
- Stablecoin big Tether is reportedly closing its Bitcoin mining operation in Uruguay.
- Native media reported excessive vitality prices as the rationale.
- The crypto firm needs to be the world’s greatest Bitcoin miner.
Stablecoin issuer Tether is halting its Bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay.
The agency, which points USDT, the third greatest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, stated it made the choice to go away the South American nation as a result of excessive vitality prices.
Native media reported that El Salvador-based Tether had confirmed to Uruguay’s Ministry of Labor and Social Safety that it was shedding 30 of its 38 workers within the nation. The agency additionally confirmed the exit to Cointelegraph.
Tether didn’t instantly reply to Decrypt‘s questions.
Again in September, native media reported that Tether—which in October reported $10 billion in revenue for the primary three quarters of 2025—was in a dispute with Uruguay’s government-owned energy firm UTE over a $5 million debt.
Tether points USDT—the most-traded digital coin within the crypto world, and the third-biggest digital asset with a $184.4 billion market cap.
The token is dubbed a digital greenback: It’s backed by reserves, based on Tether, that hold it at a 1:1 par with the US greenback. Cantor Fitzgerald, beforehand headed up by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s, at present custodies billions of {dollars} in belongings that again Tether.
Merchants within the crypto world can use USDT to shortly enter and exit digital transactions like Bitcoin buys.
However Tether additionally needs to be the world’s greatest Bitcoin miner, based on its CEO Paolo Ardoino.
South American nations have been eyed up by Bitcoin miners as a result of their low-cost vitality. The crypto mining trade requires large knowledge facilities full of costly computer systems that use giant quantities of electrical energy to course of transactions on the blockchain and mint new tokens.
Tether is making additional inroads into Latin America after relocating to Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador in January. The corporate purchased a majority stake in South American agricultural agency Adecoagro in March.
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