Poolin, once the dominant force in global Bitcoin mining, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, capping a four-year collapse that wiped out over 11,700 wallet customers.
Singapore-based Poolin Technology Pte. Ltd. and its U.S. affiliates filed voluntary petitions on July 22, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, court documents reveal.
The Poolin Chapter 11 filing lists approximately $173.1 million in liabilities against assets estimated in the $1–10 million range, exposing the brutal math behind one of crypto’s most dramatic falls from dominance.
$173M Debt, $1.2M Cash: How Poolin Went From No. 1 Pool to Bankruptcy Court
Founded in China in 2017 by Kevin Pan, Fa Zhu, and Tianzhao Li, Poolin climbed to the top of the Bitcoin mining pool rankings by September 2019, commanding a double-digit share of global hashrate.
The firm expanded into a wallet product offering USDT borrowing and interest-bearing deposits, a move that later proved catastrophic.
China’s 2021 mining ban forced Poolin to pivot its operations westward. The company selected two West Texas sites, Pyote and Tarbush, expecting up to 600 MW of power capacity.
Reality fell short at 100 MW. Excess equipment purchases compounded losses, and cumulative Texas operating deficits reached approximately $45.9 million.
The 2022 crypto winter delivered the fatal blow. Poolin suspended withdrawals in September 2022, freezing customer funds and issuing IOUs to roughly 11,700 Poolin Wallet customers.
Those IOUs now total $163.7 million in unsecured claims, the single largest liability in the bankruptcy filing.
A proposed $49 million acquisition by China Green Agriculture announced in late 2023 never closed, leaving restructuring as the only remaining path.
The filing structure is a liquidating Chapter 11, not a reorganization. Poolin has lined up a $52 million stalking-horse bid from Thor CALAP LLC under Section 363.
The sale constitutes $15 million for the Pyote property and equipment and $37 million for the Tarbush power rights and equipment.
A three-month marketing process contacted more than 335 potential buyers, including AI operators, hyperscalers, REITs, and rival miners, generating 28 NDAs and 7 letters of intent.
As public miners pivot power assets toward AI infrastructure, Poolin’s Texas sites could attract data-center buyers seeking cheap power in an undersupplied market.
Wallet IOU Holders Face Long Road to Recovery as Auction Outcome Remains Uncertain
The Poolin Chapter 11 case is not the first time Bitcoin mining heavyweights have sought court protection.
When Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 during the 2022 bear market, creditors faced months of uncertainty before a restructuring plan took shape, a process that hit multiple roadblocks before resolution. Poolin’s path is narrower.
With only $1.2 million in remaining cash and no active operations since July 10, 2026, when the company ceased mining and hosting at both Texas sites, the estate has little buffer beyond the auction proceeds.
Recovery for the 11,700 IOU holders will depend almost entirely on what the Texas power and mining assets fetch at auction.
The $52 million stalking-horse bid is a floor, not a ceiling. Higher bids remain possible, particularly from non-mining operators.
Investors who deposited assets into Poolin Wallet in 2021 and 2022, drawn in by the yield product attached to the world’s top mining pool, are still waiting for resolution in 2026.
Comparable top Bitcoin mining facilities with cleaner balance sheets have largely weathered the post-2022 cycle, while over-leveraged operators like Poolin continued to unravel.
Meanwhile, miners that survived, such as those reporting strong Q1 earnings, show how operational discipline separates survivors from casualties in the mining sector.
The auction timeline and court approval of a liquidating plan will determine final creditor recoveries. Administrative costs will be deducted before IOU holders receive any distributions.
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