Poolin, once one of the world's largest Bitcoin mining pools that combined the computing power of thousands of miners to collectively mine cryptocurrency, has filed for bankruptcy in the United States. Along with its parent company, two U.S. subsidiaries that owned mining facilities in Texas also filed with the court. The group plans to sell its assets and proceed with liquidation.
Poolin's liabilities are estimated at $173 M, with $164 M owed to users of Poolin Wallet. The bankruptcy case involves between 10,000 and 25,000 creditors. It also specifically references nearly 12,000 customers whose funds were frozen after the company suspended withdrawals in the fall of 2022. Instead of restoring access to their balances, the company issued debt certificates.
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The two Texas mining sites have already received an initial bid of $52 M, which will serve as the starting bid at auction. The proceeds from the sale will be used to repay creditors, although the final payouts will depend on the auction results and the progress of the bankruptcy proceedings.
How the Company Reached This Point
Poolin was founded in 2017 by Kevin Pan, Fa Zhu, and Li Tianzhao. By 2019, it had become the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool by hash rate, but after the 2022 crypto market crisis, it effectively ceased operations.
The company's problems began after China banned cryptocurrency mining, followed by a sharp downturn in the crypto market. Using customers' digital assets as collateral, Poolin secured about $213 M in loans, which it used to expand its business, including building mining infrastructure in Texas. After another market decline, the company froze withdrawals, and the lender liquidated the collateral. According to management, the company owed about $260 M at the time, while the collateral backing those loans was valued at approximately $265 M.
The Texas project also failed to meet expectations. The company purchased more mining equipment than its available power capacity could support and was forced to sell miners at discounted prices. Losses from those sales totaled about $8.8 M over the 2023–2025 financial years.
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