Former World's Largest Bitcoin Mining Pool Poolin Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy with $164 Million in Liabilities

Singapore-based Poolin, once the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey alongside its U.S. affiliates, Lonestar Dream and Lonestar Taproot. Facing up to $500 million in liabilities, including $163.7 million in frozen customer IOUs from a 2022 liquidity crisis, the company has ceased mining operations. Poolin is seeking court approval for a $52 million stalking-horse asset sale of its West Texas mining sites to Thor CALAP LLC, highlighting the severe financial strain of rising energy costs and market volatility on the global mining sector.

Poolin Chapter 11 bankruptcy

• ▪Poolin Technology PTE. Ltd owes approximately $163.7 million in outstanding IOUs to around 11,700 wallet holders with balances exceeding $100 after freezing withdrawals in September 2022.
• ▪Poolin Technology PTE. Ltd, Lonestar Dream Inc., and Lonestar Taproot LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 22, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.
• ▪Poolin Technology PTE. Ltd, Lonestar Dream Inc., and Lonestar Taproot LLC each reported estimated liabilities of $100 million to $500 million and assets of $1 million to $10 million.

West Texas asset auction

• ▪Lonestar Dream Inc. and Lonestar Taproot LLC ceased mining operations at their Pyote and Tarbush sites on July 10, 2026.
• ▪Poolin Technology PTE. Ltd and its affiliates executed stalking-horse asset purchase agreements with Thor CALAP LLC to sell the Pyote and Tarbush mining assets for $15 million and $37 million, respectively.
• ▪The proposed bankruptcy sale of Poolin's West Texas assets is subject to a court-supervised auction with a proposed bid deadline of September 8, 2026.

Rising mining energy costs

• ▪Bitcoin mining operators face compressed profit margins driven by rising electricity and operational costs.
• ▪Poolin's West Texas expansion suffered from receiving an initial 100 MW power allocation instead of an anticipated 600 MW, leading to $8.8 million in equipment-sale losses from FY2023 through FY2025.

Bitcoin price volatility impact

• ▪A decline in Bitcoin's price below $20,000 in June 2022 triggered margin calls from Tether against Poolin Wallet's pledged collateral.
• ▪Antalpha Technologies liquidated approximately $265 million of Poolin's digital-asset collateral in November 2022 after Bitcoin fell below $16,800.

Mining industry consolidation trends

• ▪The Bitcoin network difficulty fell 8.48% from 138.96 trillion in June 2026 to 127.17 trillion on July 11, 2026, as the total hashrate declined to 883 exahash per second.
• ▪Multiple listed Bitcoin mining firms, including Bitdeer, Bitfarms, Core Scientific, Riot, and MARA Holdings, have sold treasury Bitcoin to fund transitions into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure.

Network decentralization concerns

• ▪Poolin's exit or reduction in capacity removes a major node from the Bitcoin mining ecosystem, raising concerns among analysts regarding network decentralization and supply dynamics.
• ▪Poolin, which controlled an 18% to 20% share of the global Bitcoin hashrate in 2019, has seen its estimated hashrate share fall to effectively zero.

8 sources