TL;DR
- Poolin and two U.S. affiliates filed for Chapter 11 after West Texas operations stopped, listing liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.
- A $52 million stalking-horse bid covers the Tarbush and Pyote sites, with higher offers possible through a court-supervised auction process.
- Poolin reported approximately $173.1 million in prepetition obligations, including $163.7 million in unsecured IOUs connected to suspended customer withdrawals during 2022 and roughly 11,700 affected retail users.
Poolin Technology and two U.S. affiliates have filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey after their West Texas bitcoin mining and hosting operations stopped on July 10. The Singapore-based parent reported estimated assets between $1 million and $10 million, liabilities between $100 million and $500 million, and as many as 25,000 creditors. Poolin is entering bankruptcy with a remarkably thin asset base compared with its obligations. Rather than attempting a conventional operational turnaround, the companies plan to use the court process to sell substantially all remaining U.S. mining assets and generate recoveries for creditors.
A $52 million auction confronts years of frozen obligations
Chief Restructuring Officer Michael DuFrayne estimated prepetition obligations at approximately $173.1 million. About $163.7 million consists of unsecured IOUs issued after Poolin Wallet suspended customer withdrawals during the 2022 market downturn. Roughly 11,700 retail users reportedly held frozen IOUs worth more than $100 each when withdrawals stopped. The bankruptcy is therefore tied not only to failed mining operations, but also to customer claims lingering since the previous crypto collapse. That connection makes the proposed asset sale more consequential, because proceeds must address a creditor base shaped heavily by unresolved wallet liabilities.
Thor CALAP LLC has agreed to act as stalking-horse bidder with a $52 million proposal establishing the auction floor. The offer assigns $37 million to the Tarbush site and $15 million to the Pyote property, including associated power rights, equipment, and other mining assets. The opening bid converts two inactive Texas facilities into Poolin’s principal recovery strategy. Higher offers remain possible through the court-supervised process, with a proposed September 8 deadline, and the properties may be sold separately if that structure produces greater value for creditors than transferring the portfolio together.
The sale follows a three-month marketing campaign that contacted more than 335 potential purchasers, resulting in 28 confidentiality agreements and seven letters of intent. Poolin’s U.S. affiliates have accumulated approximately $45.9 million in losses since their formation. Once considered the world’s largest bitcoin mining pool in 2019, Poolin now controls around 0.2% of global hashrate and ranks seventeenth. The collapse from industry leader to court-managed seller captures how dramatically Poolin’s position deteriorated. Its remaining Texas infrastructure may still attract buyers, but whether $52 million meaningfully improves creditor recoveries remains uncertain in practice for customers still awaiting repayment after years of disruption.
