Poolin, formerly the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, marking the end of the road for a company that once secured a substantial share of the Bitcoin network.

Court filings show that Poolin Technology and two of its U.S. affiliates entered Chapter 11 proceedings in New Jersey, seeking to sell off their remaining mining assets and wind down operations. The company has proposed selling its West Texas mining facilities for $52 million as part of the restructuring process. West Texas has become a major hub for Bitcoin miners due to its abundant renewable energy and deregulated power market, attracting operators who relocated from China after the 2021 crackdown.

Founded in 2017 by former Bitmain executives including CEO Kevin Pan, Poolin grew rapidly into one of Bitcoin's most dominant mining pools, at its peak controlling over 20% of the Bitcoin network's hashrate. The company also expanded into wallet services, staking, and crypto financial products as the mining industry boomed.

Its fortunes shifted dramatically following China's sweeping crackdown on cryptocurrency mining in 2021. Poolin relocated much of its business overseas but continued to struggle amid falling Bitcoin prices, rising energy costs, and mounting financial pressure.

The company first displayed signs of distress in September 2022, when it suspended withdrawals, flash trades, and internal transfers on its wallet platform, citing liquidity challenges. The suspension came during a broader crypto market contagion that year that also brought down lenders like Celsius and exchanges like FTX, intensifying scrutiny of any platform halting user access to funds. The decision triggered a wave of miner departures as users lost confidence in the platform.

According to the bankruptcy filing, Poolin now holds more than $173 million in liabilities. The Chapter 11 process is expected to facilitate the sale of its remaining assets while maximizing recoveries for creditors.

The collapse of Poolin underscores how dramatically the Bitcoin mining industry has evolved in recent years. The April 2024 Bitcoin halving, which cut block rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, further squeezed margins for operators already burdened by debt and aging hardware. This pressure was also illustrated by the bankruptcy filing of Core Scientific following a difficult 2022. Mining has increasingly consolidated around larger, better-capitalized operators capable of weathering prolonged downturns and investing in newer, more efficient hardware. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has been bleeding mining power to artificial intelligence as crypto mining revenue shrinks and energy-hungry AI data centers compete for the same power infrastructure.

Today, Poolin accounts for only a tiny fraction of Bitcoin's global hashrate after once ranking as the industry's largest mining pool. The market is now led by operators such as Foundry USA, AntPool, and F2Pool, all of which have benefited from the exodus of miners from smaller or distressed pools.

The broader crypto landscape has also seen significant consolidation, with over 80 crypto apps shutting down in Q1 2026 as capital shifts toward Bitcoin ETFs and stablecoins.