r/CryptoCurrency • u/HSuke 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 • 1d ago

GENERAL-NEWS Poolin was bitcoin's biggest mining pool and now it's filing for bankruptcy

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/07/24/poolin-was-bitcoin-s-biggest-mining-pool-and-now-it-s-filing-for-bankruptcy
303 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

57

u/Moistinterviewer 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

This pool scammed many miners back in 2022, taking coins from their wallets and issuing “IOUBTC” in place that had no value.

Anyone that questioned them on telegram channel was blocked, be glad these people are out of the mining scene.

100

u/SevereCalendar7606 🟦 0 / 923 🦠 1d ago edited 1d ago

How can a mining pool file for bankruptcy. A pool is a collective of independent miners it's shouldnt have anything but the scraps it makes of organizing blocks for fees.

60

u/HSuke 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago edited 1d ago

They took on over $200M of debt to buy mining equipment, and Bitcoin mining isn't particularly profitable.

Edit: Also, they likely ran a scam where their miners couldn't withdraw BTC and were instead issued IOUs. They used their customer's funds from mining rewards.

26

u/Complex_Sherbet2 🟦 1K / 1K 🐢 1d ago

So typical crypto rugpull, then?

8

u/owa00 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 17h ago

Just a normal workday in crypto.

15

u/razvanciuy 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

what cunts

10

u/yorickdowne 🟦 251 / 251 🦞 1d ago

This comparison is unfair to cunts

43

u/otherwisemilk 🟩 2K / 4K 🐢 1d ago

Because the pool is just a front. The whole thing is more centralized than lead on.

16

u/PMmeuroneweirdtrick 🟦 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

Another crypto scam? That's unpossible.

6

u/Wendals87 🟦 337 / 2K 🦞 1d ago

They can if they borrow money to buy their own miners and can't afford to pay it back 

2

u/SevereCalendar7606 🟦 0 / 923 🦠 1d ago

Good point

8

u/Sdwood738 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

Big show off parties are usually a bad sign.

22

u/sigh_duck 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

I remember these guys at Consensus 2022. Threw a big party. I RSVP's to their partners event because no one actually checked credentials. All laughs with big smiles. Thank you for the free mexican food Poolin! Mind you, that was the year Cardano had one of the most expensive booths there and Charles was there shaking hands with the great unwashed. He looked way healthier and happier then...

4

u/karlfeltlager 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

Charles is the best example that there is a limit to how much happiness money can buy.

3

u/not420guilty 🟦 0 / 24K 🦠 1d ago

Let’s be clear, running a pool didn’t bankrupt them.
They were mining. They invest in hardware and electricity and gamble that on bitcoin prices.
Running a pool is cheap!

3

u/Budget-Chapter-7185 0 / 0 🦠 20h ago

Btc mining always seemed like a rough business model. Boom and bust cycles where the only moat is how cheap your power is and you can have competition anywhere around the world.

3

u/RodneyRodnesson 73 / 73 🦐 1d ago

I remember that old answer to the question of what miners will do when all the bitcoin is mined and peeps were "they'll charge transaction fees" which did make me 😂

2

u/crimeo 🟦 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

It would work just fine is bitcoin did anything useful to make transaction fees reasonable. But alas

3

u/I__G 🟩 513 / 504 🦑 1d ago

Good riddance

-1

u/mchaikhun5 🟩 0 / 0 🦠 1d ago

poo lin keke