Tether signs MoU with Adecoagro to develop a Bitcoin mining project in Brazil

Tether Holdings Ltd., the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South American agribusiness firm Adecoagro S.A. The agreement was disclosed in a press release on Tether’s website on Thursday.

The two companies plan to collaborate on a Bitcoin mining pilot project in Brazil, merging renewable energy capabilities with Tether’s digital asset expertise. 

Adecoagro is a Nasdaq-listed company with major operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay that currently manages over 230 megawatts of electrical generation capacity sourced from renewables.

Adecoagro to use Tether mining software

According to the statement, the pilot project will be launched using Tether’s proprietary Mining OS, a mining site management software. Tether announced that the software will be open-sourced in the coming months.

Adecoagro’s company policies on related-party transactions state that its Independent Committee has reviewed and approved the initiative. The company sees this mining project as more than a means of monetizing surplus electricity. It is seeking to diversify its balance sheet with digital assets like Bitcoin.

“We’re excited to explore innovative ways to maximize the value of our renewable energy assets,” reckoned Mariano Bosch, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Adecoagro. 

Bosch explained that the partnership could allow the company to stabilize the pricing of energy it currently sells on the spot market while gaining upside exposure to Bitcoin.

Speaking on the new MOU, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino talked about the synergy between Adecoagro’s agricultural energy infrastructure and Tether’s portfolio of mining operations. 

“This project is another step in our growing commitment to renewable-powered bitcoin mining,” said Ardoino. “It highlights the potential to align agricultural energy production with cutting-edge digital infrastructure.”

Adecoagro is in the sustainable food and energy production business, but has now promised to assess Bitcoin mining as an alternative source of demand for its existing power generation infrastructure. 

Using 230 megawatts (MW) of power capacity, a Bitcoin mining operation can deploy thousands of ASIC machines such as the Antminer S19 XP, consuming roughly 3,000 watts. At this scale, the operation could reach a hash rate of approximately 6.9 exahashes per second (EH/s), roughly 1.6% of the Bitcoin network’s total hash rate, which currently stands near 430 EH/s. 

Given the current mining difficulty and an average block reward of 3.125 BTC post-halving, a setup could mine a full block approximately once every 2 to 3 days. If efficiently managed and powered by low-cost renewable energy, Adecoagro facilities would rank among the world’s largest industrial-scale mining operations.

Ardoino believes the USDT parent company will become the biggest bitcoin miner by the end of 2025. Tether recently disclosed it holds more than 100,000 BTC, worth over $10 billion. 

Tether takes an extra step into Africa with Zanzibar partnership

On July 1, Tether also announced a collaboration with the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, located off the coast of Tanzania. The company signed another MOU, this time with the Zanzibar eGovernment Authority, to improve the financial inclusion and blockchain education on the islands.

As part of the initiative, Tether plans to work alongside educational institutions in Zanzibar to incorporate blockchain and digital asset knowledge into school and university curricula. This could help citizens add to their knowledge about decentralized technologies and encourage the development of a local digital economy.

Tether also intends to integrate its stablecoins,  including the US dollar-pegged USDT and gold-backed XAUT, into ZanMalipo, Zanzibar’s government-controlled digital payments platform. Through ZanMalipo, local users can legally engage with digital currencies directly through an official channel.

“This MOU with the Zanzibar eGovernment Authority reflects our commitment to advancing financial literacy and sustainable blockchain innovation in Africa,” Ardoino said. 

The Tether CEO added that by investing in educational initiatives and integrating digital assets into formal systems, the company is helping lay the foundation for a compliant and inclusive financial future.