Tether abandoned two bitcoin mining sites in Uruguay after a dispute with state utility UTE over electricity supply, leaving little visible evidence of a project estimated by a former contractor to have cost roughly $120 million. Tether announced the operations in May 2023, calling Uruguay a "perfect platform" because of its renewable energy and reliable grid. Microfin, Tether’s local legal entity, stopped paying electricity bills and told UTE in June 2025 that it would terminate its contracts; UTE cut power on July 25 after a revised agreement was not signed. The collapse highlights bitcoin mining’s mobile nature and worsening economics after the April 2024 halving, higher energy costs and a sharp fall in bitcoin’s price from a 2025 peak. Tether, which controls about $183 billion worth of stablecoin, has said it is reinvesting profits across energy, mining and other industries.