Poolin, a once-prominent cryptocurrency mining pool operator, has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States as part of efforts to dispose of its Texas-based facilities and conclude its activities.
The Singapore-headquartered firm, along with its American subsidiaries Lonestar Dream Inc. and Lonestar Taproot LLC, submitted voluntary filings on July 22 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.
Court documents indicate the debtors face estimated liabilities ranging from $100 million to $500 million, with assets valued between $1 million and $10 million.
A declaration by Chief Restructuring Officer Michael DuFrayne specifies total prepetition obligations of approximately $173.1 million.
The bulk of this—around $163.7 million—stems from unsecured IOUs provided to Poolin Wallet users following the suspension of withdrawals amid the 2022 cryptocurrency market decline.
Roughly 11,700 customers held balances above $100 at the time those instruments were issued.
Rather than pursuing a traditional reorganization to continue as a going concern, the bankruptcy aims to enable a supervised sale of assets.
Mining and hosting activities at the West Texas locations in Pyote and Tarbush halted on July 10.
Only a minimal staff remains to maintain security and assist with the disposition process.
The companies have secured asset purchase agreements with Thor CALAP LLC.
These arrangements include a $15 million proposal for the Pyote site along with related power rights and equipment, plus a $37 million offer for the Tarbush power rights and equipment (excluding the surface-use agreement).
Together, the $52 million commitment functions as a stalking-horse bid under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.
This establishes a minimum threshold for any competing proposals.
The deals remain contingent on higher offers and judicial approval, with the possibility of separate sales for each property.
Prior to the filing, a three-month marketing effort reached more than 335 prospective purchasers and investors.
Outreach focused particularly on operators in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, as well as hyperscalers, real estate investment trusts, private equity groups, and other cryptocurrency miners.
This generated 28 nondisclosure agreements and seven letters of intent covering both individual sites and the full portfolio.
Company representatives have highlighted that rising interest in AI infrastructure could elevate the worth of the sites’ power capacity and electrical systems, despite the unprofitability of their prior bitcoin mining and hosting work.
The Texas entities reported combined losses of about $45.9 million since inception.
Poolin originated in China in 2017 and grew to become one of the leading global mining pools by 2019.
It later introduced wallet services allowing users to borrow against crypto collateral and earn interest on deposits.
Challenges mounted after China’s 2021 mining ban and the subsequent market downturn.
Collateral was transferred and loans secured, but falling prices led to the 2022 withdrawal freeze and eventual collateral liquidation.
US expansion efforts encountered power allocation shortfalls, excess equipment purchases, and discounted sales that generated further losses.An earlier proposed acquisition of the Texas operations did not materialize.
The current process is expected to yield some recovery for unsecured creditors, including wallet holders, though the precise amount will hinge on final auction results, associated costs, and court authorization of a liquidation plan.