Poolin, once the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 22 in New Jersey. The Singapore-based company lists liabilities between $100 million and $500 million against assets of no more than $10 million. It's seeking a court-supervised sale of its West Texas sites rather than a reorganization, with a $52 million stalking-horse bid from Thor CALAP LLC setting the auction floor.
From top mining pool to bankruptcy court
Poolin was founded in China in 2017 and by September 2019 ranked as the world's top mining pool. But China's 2021 mining ban forced the company to relocate, and the 2022 market crash broke its lending-heavy business model. The company froze withdrawals in September 2022, affecting around 11,700 users with balances above $100. Those users are still waiting.
Poolin filed alongside its US affiliates, Lonestar Dream and Lonestar Taproot. The units stopped mining at their Pyote and Tarbush sites on July 10. The petition lists prepetition obligations of roughly $173.1 million, with about $163.7 million consisting of IOUs issued to Poolin Wallet customers.
The $173 million hole
That $163.7 million in IOUs is the biggest chunk of the debt. The company's assets are tiny by comparison — under $10 million. The Chapter 11 filing aims to sell the West Texas power assets, not restructure the business. The stalking-horse bid from Thor CALAP LLC ensures a minimum price, but other bidders can top it at auction.
Advisers contacted more than 335 potential buyers, generating 28 nondisclosure agreements and seven letters of intent. The sale campaign courted AI and high-performance computing operators alongside miners. That's no accident.
AI and HPC operators circle the assets
Listed miners have sold more than 15,000 BTC from their treasuries this year to fund AI and HPC buildouts, according to VanEck. Sellers include Bitdeer, Bitfarms, Core Scientific, Riot, and MARA Holdings. Bitdeer liquidated its entire Bitcoin treasury as margins tightened; 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. 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, roughly 37% below its October 2025 peak of $49.40. Bitcoin traded near $65,069 on Friday, down 0.8% in 24 hours and about 45% over the past year.
VanEck notes miner-held Bitcoin remains near 1.785 million BTC, flat year over year, suggesting steady selling of newly mined coins rather than full capitulation.
What the auction will decide
The auction will test whether Poolin's power assets are worth more to AI operators than to miners. If the stalking-horse bid holds, Thor CALAP LLC gets the sites. But with seven letters of intent on the table, a higher offer could emerge. The court will oversee the process, and creditors — including those 11,700 wallet users — will have to wait and see how much of the $173 million hole gets filled.
