Poolin, one of the industry’s once‑prominent Bitcoin mining pools, has formally entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey, marking a major development in the ongoing shakeout across the mining and crypto infrastructure sectors. What happened - Poolin Technology PTE. LTD., together with U.S. affiliates Lonestar Taproot LLC and Lonestar Dream, Inc., filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on July 22 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. - The cases are being jointly administered under Poolin’s lead case (No. 26‑18325) before Judge Eamonn J. O’Hagan. Lonestar Taproot is case No. 26‑18326 and Lonestar Dream is No. 26‑18327. - The petitions list estimated assets between $1 million and $10 million and estimated liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. Poolin estimates it has between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors and says funds are expected to be available for distribution to unsecured creditors. Restructuring and sale process - Poolin and its affiliates are remaining debtors in possession and say they entered Chapter 11 to run an orderly sale process aimed at preserving value for creditors and other stakeholders. - Michael DuFrayne, the companies’ chief restructuring officer, stated in a first‑day declaration that the Chapter 11 process will be used to pursue sales of the debtors’ assets. - On Aug. 17, the bankruptcy court approved bidding procedures for substantially all of the debtors’ assets, authorized designation of a stalking‑horse bidder, and set protocols for an auction and the treatment of contracts and leases. - Key dates: qualified bids are due Sept. 8; an auction is scheduled for Sept. 10 if competing qualified bids arrive; and a court hearing on the proposed sale is set for Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. ET in Trenton before Judge O’Hagan. Operational and asset notes - Lonestar Dream had largely wound down operations at its mining sites before the filing, having discontinued services for customer Elektron Energy and started removing Elektron’s equipment. A limited workforce was retained to secure sites, support the asset sale and handle bankruptcy administration. - Lonestar Taproot owns equipment and physical property tied to the mining facilities, including power‑related assets, buildings, improvements and substation infrastructure. - The filings note that Lonestar Taproot formerly operated as a partnership with Bitmain from March 2022 through December 2023; Bitmain contributed roughly $34.4 million to the venture and withdrew about $24.1 million after the partnership suffered significant losses. Creditor process and professional team - Poolin’s creditors are scheduled for a remote Section 341 meeting on Aug. 28 at 9 a.m. ET. - Proofs of claim may be submitted to the Poolin Claims Processing Center (KCC dba Verita Global) in El Segundo, California, via U.S. mail or hand delivery only; fax and electronic submissions are not accepted. A general deadline for claims had not been set in the amended notice. - Legal and advisory teams include Archer & Greiner, P.C. as counsel (with attorneys Stephen M. Packman, Alexander J. Andrews, Doug Leney and Natasha Songonuga listed), DuFrayne LLC and Michael DuFrayne as CRO/crisis manager, Verita Global as administrative adviser, Oon & Bazul LLC as Singapore restructuring counsel, and McCarn, Weir & Sherwood P.C. for oil, gas and mineral matters. Background and industry context - Poolin’s liquidity struggles surfaced publicly in September 2022, when it suspended withdrawals from PoolinWallet amid a surge in withdrawal requests. At the time it proposed issuing six IOU tokens pegged 1:1 to users’ BTC, ETH, USDT, LTC, ZEC and DOGE balances and said it was exploring new investment, debt‑to‑equity options and asset sales to address the shortage. - Earlier 2022 reports said Poolin halted wallet withdrawals, flash trades and internal transfers while leaving routine mining operations and direct mining‑pool payouts intact; certain swap services were also suspended. - Broader financial stress has persisted in the Bitcoin mining sector through 2026. Public miners sold a record volume of Bitcoin in Q1 2026—more than 32,000 BTC—after hashprice dropped to post‑halving lows. By mid‑2026, hashprice had fallen into the high‑$20s per PH/day, below the roughly $35 breakeven cited for older rigs. - The sector has seen other high‑profile restructurings this year, including Nasdaq‑listed crypto ATM operator Bitcoin Depot’s Chapter 11 filing in May. What’s next - The bankruptcy docket continues to evolve; with the Aug. 17 order approving bidding procedures, Poolin is moving toward the Sept. 8 bid deadline and the potential Sept. 10 auction and Sept. 18 sale hearing. Market participants and creditors will be watching closely for buyers, stalking‑horse terms and the ultimate recovery for creditors. Stay tuned for updates as the bidding and court process play out. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news