From Hashrate King to Has-Been: Poolin Files Chapter 11 With $173M in the Red ⛏️

Singapore-based Bitcoin mining pool Poolin and two of its US affiliates filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on July 22, 2026, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, court documents show. The filings list approximately $173.1 million in liabilities against assets estimated between $1 million and $10 million, with between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors. Poolin's official court filing places liabilities in a range of $100 million to $500 million and assets in the $1 million to $10 million band, underscoring the scale of the shortfall. Roughly 11,700 wallet customers hold $163.7 million in frozen IOUs, representing the largest single liability in the case.

Poolin and its affiliates are simultaneously seeking court approval to sell two West Texas mining sites to Thor CALAP LLC under a proposed $52 million stalking-horse bid. The package includes $37 million for the Tarbush assets, covering assumed liabilities, and $15 million for the Pyote site, covering power rights, equipment and all other assets tied to the mining facilities. The proposed sale would be subject to a court-supervised auction, with a bid deadline of Sept. 8 under the proposed bidding procedures.

Founded in China in 2017 by Kevin Pan, Fa Zhu and Tianzhao Li, Poolin climbed to the top of the global Bitcoin mining pool rankings by September 2019. The pool now ranks as the 17th largest mining pool operator by hashrate, with a 0.2% market share, according to Hashrate Index. China's 2021 mining ban forced Poolin to pivot westward, selecting the Pyote and Tarbush sites with expectations of up to 600 MW of power capacity, a figure that ultimately fell short at 100 MW.

Poolin's filing comes as Bitcoin miners face rising financial pressure from electricity costs and shifting market dynamics. In February, NFN8 Group and two of its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Western District of Texas. In November 2025, Bitfarms initiated a complete wind-down of its Bitcoin mining operations to pivot to AI and high-performance computing data centers. On Monday, Bitcoin mining companies Hut 8 and IREN announced major AI infrastructure deals: Hut 8 disclosed a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease for its AI data center campus, and IREN announced $2.8 billion in cloud services contracts with AI developers. Earlier in July, MARA Holdings announced plans to acquire a Texas site with up to 2 gigawatts of capacity to expand its AI and digital infrastructure business. Wealth management company Bernstein said deals with third-party providers, such as Bitcoin miners, will be necessary for AI companies seeking to address the computing power limits of AI data centers.