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By Hannah Lang and Elizabeth Howcroft<\/p>\n
Feb 11 (Reuters) – Crypto liquidity provider and lender BlockFills has halted client deposits and withdrawals amid \u200ca downturn in bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices, in a sign of knock-on impact \u200cfrom the latest crypto market drop.<\/p>\n
BlockFills, which is based in Chicago, said in a statement \u200bon Wednesday that it halted withdrawals last week and has been working to restore liquidity to its platform. The company is in active dialogue with its clients, which include crypto hedge funds and asset managers, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The \u200cFinancial Times first reported that \u2060the company had suspended withdrawals.<\/p>\n
BlockFills raised $6 million in 2021 and a further $37 million in 2022, from investors including CME \u2060Ventures and Susquehanna Capital, according to PitchBook data. CME Ventures and Susquehanna Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
The company has more than \u200b2,000 \u200binstitutional clients and facilitated more than $61.1 billion \u200bin trading volume in 2025, \u200caccording to its website.<\/p>\n
Precious metals and cryptocurrencies sold off heavily on January 30, after U.S. President Donald Trump named Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, due to expectations he could shrink the Fed’s balance sheet, potentially reducing demand for bitcoin. Digital asset prices have seesawed since, including a \u200cdrop of 20% on Thursday of last \u200bweek.<\/p>\n
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last down more \u200bthan 3% at $66,534. It \u200bpreviously hit an all-time high of above $125,000 in October.<\/p>\n
BlockFills said \u200cclients have still been able to \u200bopen and close \u200bpositions in spot and derivatives trading despite the pause on withdrawals, which it called temporary.<\/p>\n
“BlockFills is working tirelessly to bring this matter to \u200ba conclusion and will \u200ccontinue to regularly update our clients as developments warrant,” the \u200bspokesperson said.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York and Elizabeth Howcroft \u200bin Paris; Editing by Matthew Lewis)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n