Poolin Files for Bankruptcy Amid Liquidity Crises and Infrastructure Bottlenecks
Poolin Technology, once a leading Bitcoin mining company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The move marks the end of a multi-year decline that began with China's 2021 crypto mining ban and accelerated through severe liquidity bottlenecks across its international mining pools and lending arms.
The primary catalyst for Poolin's financial collapse stems from a series of liquidity events and mounting operational losses spanning both its Asian and North American divisions. During the height of the 2022 crypto market contraction, Poolin Wallet suffered a severe liquidity crisis, forcing management to freeze user withdrawals and issue approximately $163.7 million in unbacked IOUs to nearly twelve thousand customers.
Pools' struggles were further exacerbated by power grid constraints in West Texas, where its American hosting and self-mining operations were severely hampered. The company had overordered expensive mining hardware that could not be fully deployed due to initial utility allocations being capped at just 100 megawatts, forcing the sale of surplus equipment at steep discounts.
To maximize recovery for its creditors, Poolin has entered into a stalking-horse asset purchase agreement with Thor CALAP LLC for a combined valuation of $52 million. The independent transaction breaks down into a $15 million purchase agreement for the company's Pyote site and a $37 million agreement covering its Tarbush facility assets and valuable electrical power rights in Texas.