Tether Doubles Down on Bitcoin: Mining Operations in Uruguay in the Works

Tether plans to mine its first bitcoin in the Uruguay facility by mid-Q3 2023

article-image

Jiap/Shutterstock.com modified by Blockworks

share

Tether is doubling down on its Bitcoin strategy by launching a mining operation in Uruguay set to be operational by the middle of the third quarter in 2023, Tether told Blockworks Tuesday.

Just last week, Tether said it would be purchasing a lot more bitcoin, which it will custody itself. 

The USDT issuer told Blockworks that this endeavor will be the company’s first time mining bitcoin. Tether added in a statement that it’s actively looking to hire energy experts to help support the South American-based mining initiative. Some of the positions based in Montevideo, Uruguay, that Tether listed include an IT technician, a site manager, an electrician and a mechanical technician. 

Tether has selected Uruguay as its destination for a bitcoin mining facility because of the country’s high percentage of renewable electricity generation, chiefly wind and hydropower, according to the International Trade Administration. 

The ITA further posits that Uruguay “currently generates over 98 percent of all electricity from renewable sources” as of September 2022. 

Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino pointed to Uruguay’s “renewable energy capabilities” and said Tether is committed to sustainability.

“Our unwavering commitment to renewable energy ensures that every Bitcoin we mine leaves a minimal ecological footprint while upholding the security and integrity of the Bitcoin network,” Ardoino said in a statement. 

Similar to Tether, Bitdeer launched a $500 million fundraising effort in early May along with Bhutan’s government to pay for a carbon-free mining operation in the South Asian country.

This move from Tether comes as its stablecoin continues to exercise dominance, with USDT capturing over 64% of the stablecoin market share, according to data from Blockworks Research.

Updated May 30, 2023 at 12:19 pm ET: Tether provided new details about when the Uruguay mining facility will be operational and general information about its mining business.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (10).png

Research

Innovations on Aptos’ technical design through Raptr, Shardines, and Zaptos approach near-optimal latency and throughput by unlocking 100% utilization of network resources, with the capacity to settle 260k transactions per second with latencies less than 800ms. The original Move language was revamped with the launch of Move 2, supporting more expressivity in smart contract logic and a scalable ability to interact with high volume datasets. The ecosystem has benefitted from strong asset inflows, now hosting over $1.3B in stablecoins, $450M in bridged BTC, and $530M in RWAs. Activity in the Aptos ecosystem has grown notably over the past year, with monthly application revenue reaching ~$835k and monthly DEX volumes growing to over $5B, both at new all time highs.

article-image

Interchain Labs will focus on sovereign L1s and institutional demand, abandoning plans for smart contracts on the Cosmos Hub

article-image

Also, only three tokens have outperformed bitcoin so far this year: XMR, HYPE and SKY

article-image

The fund group has submitted proposals in recent months for other funds that would hold litecoin, solana, XRP, HBAR, Sui and others

article-image

Momentum’s back — BTC leads, risk assets follow

article-image

Ondo Finance’s acquisition of blockchain development company Strangelove follows its buy of Oasis Pro

article-image

Cryptocurrency and stock traders alike had a lot to unpack Wednesday