Poolin Technology Pte. Ltd. and two Texas affiliates, Lonestar Dream Inc. and Lonestar Taproot LLC, filed chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey on July 22, 2026, case No. 26-18325. The debtors sought only joint administration of the three cases, not substantive consolidation, and the same day entered into two asset purchase agreements with Thor CALAP LLC to sell their remaining Bitcoin mining sites in Pyote and Tarbush, Texas, for a combined $52 million.
The filing follows the wind-down of a mining-pool business that a Law360 report said carried more than $173 million in liabilities into chapter 11, driven by a 2021 Chinese government mining ban and a 2022 liquidity crisis at Poolin's wallet-deposit business. The debtors ceased mining operations at both Texas sites on July 10, 2026, signed letters of intent with Thor CALAP three days later, and moved directly into a court-supervised sale process with no debtor-in-possession financing sought among the first-day motions.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Trenton)
Case Number
26-18325
Petition Date
July 22, 2026
Judge
Hon. Eamonn James O'Hagan
Case Snapshot
Wallet Freeze and China's 2021 Mining Ban
Poolin was founded in November 2017 by Zhibiao "Kevin" Pan, Fa Zhu, and Tianzhao Li, and by September 2019 had become, according to the first-day declaration, one of the world's largest Bitcoin mining pools; contemporaneous reporting says it controlled nearly a fifth of global hashrate at its peak. Alongside pool operations, the company ran Poolin Wallet, a deposit product paying annual interest of 2% to 8.8% tied to a relationship with Tether International Limited. Poolin froze customer withdrawals during the 2022 cryptocurrency downturn, before the IOUs at the center of this case were issued. China's May 2021 ban on Bitcoin mining ended operations at Poolin's China affiliate, Beijing Satoshi Smart Technology Co. Ltd., which Poolin deregistered following the ban, and pushed the company toward a hosting-services model in the United States, leading to the formation of Lonestar Dream Inc. and Lonestar Taproot LLC as Delaware entities in late 2021.
The pivot coincided with a market downturn that undermined the wallet business. When Bitcoin fell below $20,000 in June 2022, margin calls followed, and Poolin borrowed $213.0 million from Antalpha Technologies Limited over the summer against roughly $355.8 million in digital-asset collateral. By September 2022, the company disclosed a liquidity crisis at Poolin Wallet and issued $163,723,500 in IOUs to approximately 11,700 wallet holders with balances above a $100 minimum. Bitcoin's decline below $16,800 in November 2022 triggered Antalpha's liquidation of an estimated $265 million in collateral against roughly $260 million owed, and Poolin shut down the wallet business that same month.
Lonestar's Texas Hosting Pivot and Bitmain Exit
Kevin Pan selected the Pyote and Tarbush sites in West Texas in September 2021 after a nationwide search that evaluated more than 30 candidate sites and substations. Lonestar Taproot operated as an LLC partnership with Bitmain from March 2022 through December 2023, with Bitmain contributing $34.4 million before the company reimbursed Bitmain $24.1 million upon its withdrawal. Separately, founder Kevin Pan made a $10 million capital contribution to Lonestar Dream to support the hosting operations at the Pyote and Tarbush sites.
The hosting business ran into its own operational and financial strain. Early discussions with Texas New Mexico Power had pointed to as much as 600 MW of power capacity for the mining sites, but the utility initially allocated only 100 MW; expecting the larger allocation, the debtors over-ordered mining equipment and recorded $8.8 million in equipment sale losses between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2025. The Pyote site itself shrank from an original 86.5 acres after the debtors deeded roughly 62.5 acres back to Priority Power Management, the site's prior owner, under an earlier property settlement, while Tarbush remains subject to a surface use agreement with landlord DBR Land LLC — effective January 2022 and amended in August 2024 — that is now the subject of the royalty-payment dispute. The CRO declaration also lists pandemic-related disruption, startup cost overruns, and legal claims that Wallet Holders have filed against the debtors in the United States and Singapore among the contributing factors, alongside a broader shift in market demand toward AI and high-performance computing that further eroded the economics of crypto hosting. Lonestar Dream and Lonestar Taproot together recorded $45.9 million in cumulative losses since formation, and Lonestar Taproot's plant, property, and equipment carried a net book value of $41.7 million as of May 2026.
Unsecured Debt Structure and Wallet Holder IOUs
Poolin itself has not conducted ordinary-course operations since 2022. Its remaining assets consist of approximately $1.2 million on deposit in a New Jersey bank account formerly held through the Mixin Wallet, an office lease in Lawrence, New Jersey, and an intercompany claim against its affiliates — the basis for filing in the District of New Jersey.
The debtors' prepetition liabilities are almost entirely unsecured. Wallet Holder IOUs account for the large majority of the stated debt, followed by other unsecured obligations, an unsecured shareholder loan, and smaller trade, insurance, and tax liabilities:
Wallet Holder IOUs
$163,723,500
Other unsecured debt
$4,467,600
Unsecured shareholder loan
$4,258,600
Trade creditors
$450,000
Insurance premiums
$210,000
Taxes payable
$91
Prepetition Unsecured Claims
A motion seeking complex-case treatment states the platform served more than 35,000 clients and that most remaining creditors are former customers located in China or other countries without reliable physical mailing addresses. The motion asks the court to authorize service by email and SMS/text message and to let the debtors file one consolidated top-50 creditor list and mailing matrix covering all three entities instead of separate per-debtor filings.
The court granted that procedural relief on July 27, 2026, entering an order jointly administering the three cases for procedural purposes only — without substantive consolidation — alongside a separate complex-case management order that sets the next omnibus hearings for September 16 and October 21, 2026. As of the docket reviewed through that date, no official committee of unsecured creditors or other statutory committee had been appointed, and no party had sought appointment of a chapter 11 trustee or examiner.
The first-day motions did not include a request for debtor-in-possession financing or use of cash collateral. Instead, the debtors sought only routine continuity relief — maintaining the cash management system, paying employee obligations, and continuing insurance and utility service.
As of the petition date, Lonestar Dream had substantially completed the wind-down of its operating business at both Texas sites. The debtors retained only a limited workforce to preserve the value of the estates, maintain the safety and security of the mining sites and equipment, support the marketing and sale of the assets, and administer the cases through plan confirmation, and they stated an intent to file schedules of assets and liabilities and statements of financial affairs within the next several weeks.
Thor CALAP agreed to acquire the Pyote assets for $15 million and the Tarbush assets for $37 million under two separate asset purchase agreements executed on the petition date, with consideration structured as cash plus the assumption of certain liabilities. The bid protections attached to the stalking horse designation include a 3% breakup fee plus expense reimbursement capped at $250,000 for the Tarbush transaction and $150,000 for Pyote, payable if the debtors accept a competing bid or terminate the agreements while Thor is not in default.
Competing bids must exceed the stalking horse offer by a minimum increment of $250,000 for Pyote or $500,000 for Tarbush, carry no break-up-fee or expense-reimbursement request of their own, and be accompanied by a good-faith deposit equal to 5% of the cash consideration. The debtors' proposed sale timeline sets a bid-procedures hearing for August 12, 2026, a non-binding indication-of-interest deadline of August 27, a qualified-bid deadline of September 8, an auction on September 10 if needed, notice of the winning and back-up bids on September 11, sale and assumption/assignment objection deadlines of September 14, a sale hearing no later than September 16, and an outside closing date of November 30, 2026. The court entered an order granting expedited first-day relief on July 23, 2026 to support that compressed schedule. The debtors have stated their objective is to maximize asset value through the 363 sale process and apply the proceeds toward confirmation of a liquidating plan that management projects will yield a dividend to creditors.
Elektron Settlement and Hosting Agreement Rejections
Before the sites went dark on July 10, 2026, Elektron Energy was Lonestar Dream's primary hosting client under four hosting agreements. The debtors and Elektron reached a settlement agreement dated June 22, 2026 that resolves several billing disputes tied to the relationship: Elektron's recalculated power-usage-effectiveness figures leave a $1,344,788.13 balance owed to Lonestar Dream for the March 2025–March 2026 period, held in escrow subject to release conditions; Lonestar Dream agreed to a 50% discount on $403,000 in warehouse charges, with Elektron remitting $201,500; a Texas New Mexico Power metering failure at the Pyote site from October 2025 through February 2026 led to an estimated $476,788 pre-bill that is being held in escrow pending final utility reconciliation; and Elektron owes a separate $53,920.20 backup-pool reconciliation payment.
Under the settlement, the hosting agreements terminated on the earlier of July 10, 2026 or court approval of the Lonestar Dream asset sale, with the parties exchanging mutual releases of historical uptime and liquidated-damages claims. The debtors asked the court to approve the rejection of the hosting agreements effective as of the petition date out of caution, with a hearing on the motion scheduled for August 20, 2026.
Professional Retentions and DuFrayne's Dual Role
Three directors — Kevin Pan, Kathy Zhang, and Benjamin Thong — govern Poolin, while Pan serves as sole director of both Lonestar entities. Across the debtor group, Pan holds the CEO title, Zhang is COO, Pei Hsuan Chiu is CFO, and Michael Dufrayne is CRO. Pan owns both Poolin and Lonestar Dream directly, and Lonestar Dream is the sole member of Lonestar Taproot.
DuFrayne LLC holds two roles in the case, and only one professional retention in the case — Verita's claims-and-noticing role, discussed below — had been approved as of the docket reviewed through July 31, 2026. Michael Dufrayne has served as chief restructuring officer under an engagement letter dated November 14, 2025, and on July 31, 2026 the debtors filed an amended application seeking court approval of DuFrayne LLC's employment as crisis managers and Dufrayne as CRO, with a hearing set for August 14, 2026. That amended application sets DuFrayne LLC's compensation at a $35,000 monthly flat fee, a $15,000 prepetition retainer held in escrow, and a success fee — payable on either a financing or a sale transaction — of 2.5% of the first $100 million, 1.75% of the next $100 million, and 1% of any amount above $200 million. The same firm separately seeks retention as investment banker under an engagement agreement dated February 3, 2026, at the identical success-fee percentages on a financing or sale transaction but without a monthly retainer, to prepare marketing materials for the sale of the debtors' equity and assets.
Beyond DuFrayne, the debtors have moved to retain several other professionals, most of which remain pending. Archer & Greiner, P.C. would serve as bankruptcy counsel under a $550,000 retainer at hourly rates of $355 to $890. Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLC, doing business as Verita Global, was approved as claims and noticing agent for a $30,000 retainer by an order entered July 28, 2026, and the debtors separately seek to retain Verita as administrative advisor effective the petition date to handle plan solicitation and ballot tabulation, assist in preparing the schedules of assets and liabilities and statements of financial affairs, and manage eventual plan distributions — duties the debtors describe as falling outside Verita's separate claims-and-noticing role under 28 U.S.C. § 156(c). Because Poolin Technology is incorporated in Singapore, the debtors have also moved to retain Oon & Bazul LLC as Singapore insolvency counsel, at a retainer of $23,135.10 and hourly rates of SGD 250 to 950, to pursue foreign recognition of the chapter 11 cases there. The debtors have separately moved to retain McCarn, Weir & Sherwood P.C. as special oil, gas, and mineral counsel, billing hourly against a $10,000 pre-petition retainer, to advise on Texas real estate title and mineral-rights issues tied to the Pyote and Tarbush sale.
The debtors also moved to establish interim compensation procedures for retained professionals, proposing monthly fee statements due by the 15th of the following month, a 14-day objection window, and interim payment absent a timely objection, consistent with District of New Jersey Local Rule 2016-3. That motion originally carried an August 20, 2026 hearing date, but the debtors obtained the U.S. Trustee's consent to a shortened-notice order moving the hearing to August 14, 2026.
Key Timeline
Date
Event
May 2021
China bans Bitcoin mining, forcing Poolin's shift toward Texas hosting
September 2022
Poolin Wallet liquidity crisis; $163.7 million in IOUs issued to wallet holders
November 2022
Antalpha liquidates collateral; Poolin shuts down wallet operations
November 14, 2025
Michael Dufrayne/DuFrayne LLC appointed CRO
July 10, 2026
Lonestar Dream and Lonestar Taproot cease mining operations
July 13, 2026
Debtors sign letters of intent with Thor CALAP LLC
Court enters order granting expedited first-day relief
July 27, 2026
Court grants joint administration for procedural purposes only, without substantive consolidation
July 27, 2026
Court enters complex case management order; omnibus hearings set for September 16 and October 21, 2026
July 28, 2026
Court approves Verita Global's retention as claims and noticing agent
August 14, 2026 (scheduled)
Hearing on interim compensation procedures motion, advanced from August 20
September 8, 2026 (proposed)
Qualified-bid deadline
September 16, 2026 (proposed)
Sale hearing, no later than this date
November 30, 2026 (proposed)
Outside closing deadline for the sale
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the claims agent for Poolin Technology?
Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLC, doing business as Verita Global, was approved as claims and noticing agent by a July 28, 2026 order, retained effective as of the petition date to prepare and serve required case notices.
What happens to the Pyote and Tarbush mining sites?
The debtors are selling both sites to stalking horse bidder Thor CALAP LLC for a combined $52 million, subject to higher or better bids at a proposed September 10, 2026 auction and a sale hearing no later than September 16, 2026.
Did Poolin Technology obtain debtor-in-possession financing?
No. The first-day motions sought only continuity relief — cash management, employee obligations, insurance, and utilities — without a DIP facility or cash collateral request.
Other crypto-sector cases offer points of comparison: NFN8 Group also used a 363 sale to unwind a Bitcoin mining operation, Celsius Network and Silvergate Capital both involved deposit or wallet-holder runs that preceded a chapter 11 filing, and Archblock traces a reserve crisis across a related set of crypto bankruptcies.
Sources
combined $52 million /documents/82bec388-f07d-4618-bea9-da499daaeb7c/
moved to establish interim compensation procedures /documents/dfab0631-6e2c-4fc1-8d5d-f600d67b589b/
order moving the hearing to August 14, 2026 /documents/76840364-f0fc-4797-b508-4763f02e90c4/
carried more than $173 million in liabilities https://www.law360.com/bankruptcy/articles/2504929?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section
controlled nearly a fifth of global hashrate at its peak https://decrypt.co/374289/poolin-bitcoin-biggest-mining-pools-files-bankruptcy
froze customer withdrawals during the 2022 cryptocurrency downturn https://www.theblock.co/post/409587/former-bitcoin-miner-poolin-files-chapter-11-sets-52-million-floor-bid-for-texas-operations
AI and high-performance-computing operators, hyperscalers, data-center infrastructure companies, REITs, and private equity firms https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/poolin-files-for-bankruptcy-seeks-sale-of-texas-cryptomining-assets/
This article was researched and written with AI assistance, using court filings, public records, and news sources. AI-generated content can contain errors. Verify all information against primary sources before relying on it. This is not legal or financial advice. See the disclaimer.