World’s Former Top Bitcoin Mining Pool Poolin Files Chapter 11

Poolin, once the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 22 in New Jersey. The petition lists liabilities between $100 million and $500 million against assets of no more than $10 million.

The Singapore-based company wants a court-supervised sale of its West Texas sites rather than a reorganization. A $52 million stalking-horse bid from Thor CALAP LLC sets the auction floor.

Inside the Poolin Chapter 11 Filing

Poolin filed alongside its US affiliates, Lonestar Dream and Lonestar Taproot. The units stopped mining at their Pyote and Tarbush sites on July 10.

A declaration from Chief Restructuring Officer Michael DuFrayne puts prepetition obligations at roughly $173.1 million. About $163.7 million of that consists of IOUs issued to Poolin Wallet customers. The company froze withdrawals in September 2022, affecting around 11,700 users with balances above $100.

Founded in China in 2017, Poolin ranked as the world’s top mining pool by September 2019. China’s 2021 mining ban and the 2022 market crash broke its lending-heavy business model.

Notably, the sale campaign courted AI and high-performance computing (HPC) operators alongside miners. Advisers contacted more than 335 potential buyers, generating 28 nondisclosure agreements and seven letters of intent, per TheEnergyMag.

Bitcoin Miners Are Not Giving Up, They Are Switching Sides

Poolin’s liquidation caps a punishing stretch for an industry at its mining breaking point. Listed miners have sold more than 15,000 BTC from their treasuries this year to fund AI and HPC buildouts, according to VanEck. The sellers include Bitdeer, Bitfarms, Core Scientific, Riot, and MARA Holdings.

Bitdeer liquidated its entire Bitcoin treasury as margins tightened. Similarly, Riot funds its Texas data center pivot by selling mined Bitcoin. Investors have rewarded the change, with miner stocks crushing BTC as AI infrastructure spending accelerates.

Network difficulty fell 8.48% from 138.96 trillion in June to 127.17 trillion on July 11, its latest downward adjustment. Bitcoin’s total hashrate slid around 13% from 1.03 zetahash/second to 883 exahash/second.

Hashprice, the daily revenue miners earn per petahash, closed near $31.10 on July 11. That is roughly 37% below its October 2025 peak of $49.40, even after a 12.5% bounce this month.

Consequently, mining just became easier for operators who stayed. Bitcoin (BTC) traded near $65,069 on Friday, down 0.8% in 24 hours and about 45% over the past year.

However, VanEck notes miner-held Bitcoin remains near 1.785 million BTC, flat year over year. That pattern suggests steady selling of newly mined coins rather than full capitulation.

The auction will now test whether Poolin’s power assets are worth more to AI operators than to miners.