Bitcoin mining pool Poolin seeks Chapter 11 protection with about $173.1 million in debt

Poolin Technology Pte. Ltd., based in Singapore, and two U.S. subsidiaries—Lonestar Dream and Lonestar Taproot—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 22 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, in what ranks among the mining sector's largest institutional failures in recent years. According to court filings, Poolin reports liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, with documents indicating an estimated total of roughly $173.1 million. Assets are listed at less than $10 million. The creditor count is put at 10,000 to 25,000. The biggest single obligation—about $163.7 million—relates to approximately 11,700 users of "Poolin Wallet." The liability traces back to September 2022, when Poolin, following the broader crypto market crash, allegedly diverted user assets into leveraged lending that was later liquidated. The firm subsequently froze wallet withdrawals and account access, citing "liquidity issues," and issued IOU tokens instead of returning users' bitcoin. The debt remains outstanding nearly three years later. Poolin was founded in 2017 in Beijing by Kevin Pan, Fa Zhu and other former Bitmain executives. At its 2019 peak, it accounted for around 18% to 20% of global hash rate, making it one of the world's largest Bitcoin mining pools. After China's 2021 mining ban, the company shifted operations to Texas. In Texas, Poolin faced a major power allocation shortfall, expecting 600 MW but receiving only 100 MW. The company sold idle equipment at steep discounts, posting about $8.8 million in losses from 2023 to 2025. Total losses tied to its Texas operations reached nearly $45.9 million, and the business was permanently shut down on July 10 with no plans to restart. Poolin's primary path to repaying creditors now hinges on auctioning two West Texas mining assets. Thor CALAP LLC has submitted a $52 million "reserve bid" to set the opening price, a figure far below the roughly $173 million in total liabilities, leaving creditors bracing for only partial recovery.