Poolin files Chapter 11 with $173.1 million debt, seeks Texas asset sale

Poolin, once the world's largest bitcoin mining pool, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 22 with two U.S. affiliates as it moves to liquidate its West Texas mining assets and wind down operations. The jointly administered filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey covers Poolin, Lonestar Dream Inc. and Lonestar Taproot LLC. Court papers show a balance sheet heavily weighed down by customer claims tied to Poolin Wallet. The debtors listed about $173.1 million of prepetition obligations, including roughly $163.7 million of unsecured IOUs issued after withdrawals were suspended in September 2022. The petition lists 10,001 to 25,000 creditors, assets of $1 million to $10 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, while the company said it had about $1.2 million of remaining cash and no active operations after mining and hosting stopped at the Texas sites on July 10, 2026. The case is structured as a liquidating Chapter 11 centered on a Section 363 sale rather than a turnaround. Thor CALAP LLC has been selected as the stalking-horse bidder with a combined $52 million offer, split between $15 million for the Pyote property and equipment and $37 million for Tarbush power rights and equipment. Poolin said a three-month marketing process contacted more than 335 potential buyers, including AI operators, hyperscalers, REITs and rival miners, producing 28 non-disclosure agreements and seven letters of intent. Founded in China in 2017 by Zhibiao “Kevin” Pan, Fa Zhu and Tianzhao Li, Poolin rose to the top of global mining-pool rankings by September 2019. Its later push into wallet services and Texas expansion unraveled after China’s 2021 mining ban and the 2022 crypto downturn. Poolin expected up to 600 megawatts of power in Texas but received 100 MW, and court materials say cumulative operating deficits there reached about $45.9 million. A proposed $49 million sale to China Green Agriculture announced in late 2023 did not close. Recovery for the roughly 11,700 wallet customers still depends largely on what the Texas assets fetch at auction, with administrative costs to be paid before distributions to IOU holders. The $52 million stalking-horse bid sets a floor, but higher offers remain possible, particularly if the sites attract data-center or other non-mining buyers seeking power capacity in Texas.