Bitcoin’s Fall Forces Crypto Lender BlockFills To Halt Withdrawals – Here’s Why

BlockFills, a Chicago-based institutional crypto lender and liquidity provider, has temporarily stopped client bitcoin deposits and withdrawals after a sharp slide in Bitcoin.

The firm told customers the move was taken “in light of recent market and financial conditions,” report say.

Trading access for some accounts remains open, but transfers to and from the platform are on hold. This step has left many institutional clients unsettled and watching for the next update.

BlockFills Freezes Customer Withdrawals

According to the company, the halt is a precaution. Customers were told to expect ongoing communication from management. Based on reports, the pause affects both deposits and withdrawals and no firm date for resumption has been given.

Some accounts are restricted differently; a few can still execute spot trades while transfers are blocked. The action was taken after a rapid and deep fall in Bitcoin prices that triggered a wave of liquidations across exchanges and lending desks.

Market Trigger And Bitcoin’s Slide

The crypto market moved violently. Bitcoin fell sharply from recent highs and that fast drop forced margin calls and forced sales. That dry market action put pressure on credit lines and funding arrangements that firms like BlockFills maintain with trading partners.

Reports note large volumes were unwound in hours rather than days. When prices swing this way liquidity can vanish quickly, and those gaps are what BlockFills said it aimed to avoid for clients and for itself.

BlockFills serves a wide set of institutional users — asset managers, hedge funds, miners and professional trading firms. The firm handled substantial trading volume in the prior year and has business ties across the industry.

Client balances are at the center of concern now. Some funds that relied on quick transfers to rebalance positions found that option closed. A number of trades were still being processed internally, but moving coins out to external wallets or exchanges was not allowed.

Clients have been given updates and invited to direct questions to account teams. According to messages circulated to customers, the firm is working with investors and counterparties to restore normal flows.

No formal insolvency or restructuring has been announced. That statement may calm some, but similar pauses in the past at other crypto lenders have sometimes been followed by deeper problems, which is why many clients remain cautious.

BlockFills was established in 2017 by CEO Nick Hammer and President Gordon Wallace, with financial backing from Susquehanna Private Equity Investments and CME Group.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView