Singapore mining firm Poolin and its two US subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 in New Jersey, planning to cease operations and sell remaining assets
Poolin and its two US subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 in New Jersey, planning to cease operations and sell remaining assets.
Court documents show total liabilities of approximately $173 million, of which about $163.7 million corresponds to unsecured IOUs issued to wallet users after withdrawals were suspended in 2022.
In market mechanisms, buyers are betting on the mining site's power access and convertibility, rather than mining itself; Thor CALAP's $52 million anchor bid represents only a small portion of the debt scale, with recovery rates determined by bidding results, fees, and liquidation costs.
Source: Public information
ABAB AI Insight
The collapse of Poolin is not a single-point incident, but rather a result of "misappropriating user assets—freezing withdrawals—IOU issuance," leading to a long-term loss of credibility. Public materials show that after suspending withdrawals in 2022, the company used IOUs instead of real Bitcoin for payments, and three years later, this debt remains the heaviest burden in the bankruptcy case.
In terms of capital pathways, it first achieved a leading position globally through mining pool computing power, then shifted its business to Texas after the mining ban in China, attempting to rebuild cash flow with cheap electricity and large-scale capacity. However, the reality is that power quotas were far below expectations, ultimately forcing it to sell equipment at low prices, shut down operations, and move towards liquidation.
Historically, the true assets in such mining collapses are not the "computing power story," but rather power contracts, site locations, and the value of equipment conversion. The valuation logic of the West Texas mining sites has now shifted from mining revenue to data centers, AI infrastructure, and power rights, indicating that old mining assets are being repriced in a new cycle of computing power.
Essentially, this is a reconstruction of the industrial chain: mining has degraded from a high-leverage expansion business to power assets that can be reused by AI and data centers; those who can secure power access and sites will have a better chance to capture the next round of capital expenditure.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Computing power will become obsolete, but electricity will not.
Misappropriating liquidity will ultimately turn into a liquidation table.
When cycles reverse, assets change hands first.