Power Cuts: Tether Owes Nearly $5 Million in Energy Bills to Uruguay

Local reports say the power company cut power to Tether’s operation on July 25 amid a renegotiation of Uruguay’s power tariffs. In June, the company signed an MoU conditioned on payment of its outstanding debts.

Tether Faces Power Cuts in Uruguay Amidst $5 Million Outstanding Energy Debt

Tether, the multi-billion-dollar crypto and stablecoin company, is facing difficulties regarding its operation in Uruguay, linked to its mining operations. According to local sources, the company is currently experiencing power interruptions due to its outstanding energy bills from the activities of its two sites in the country.

Sources from UTE, the Uruguayan state-owned power company, told Busqueda that Tether’s subsidiary Microfin faces outstanding debts of $4.8 million since July, when the company stopped making payments, and its warranty deposit has been spent.

The company allegedly interrupted its payments in May, amid a renegotiation of the power tariffs to pursue an expansion to a new site in the country. In June, UTE’s President Andrea Cabrera signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to solve this situation, conditioned on the payment of Microfin’s outstanding debts to the power company.

Uruguay was one of the first countries where Tether set foot in Latam, with its first investments going back to 2023. At that time, the company announced several moves to diversify its activities into bitcoin mining and other industries.

Paolo Ardoino, who was CTO of Tether at the time, highlighted the relevance of the move given Uruguay’s 94% share of renewable energy. “By harnessing the power of Bitcoin and Uruguay’s renewable energy capabilities, Tether is leading the way in sustainable and responsible Bitcoin mining,” he stressed.

Tether reported having reached nearly $5 billion in net profit in an attestation tied to the company’s operations during Q2 2025. Also, the company is one of the largest investors in U.S. debt globally, holding over $127 billion in U.S. treasuries as backing for USDT, the largest U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin product in the cryptocurrency market by market capitalization.