Crypto lender BlockFills suspends withdrawals for clients in latest blow to the blockchain sector
BlockFills, a crypto trading platform, will temporarily prohibit customers from depositing and withdrawing funds. It is the latest sign of trouble for the digital assets industry, which has been beset by plunging prices and unease over its future. Chicago-based BlockFills announced the decision in a statement on Wednesday, saying that it was doing so to further the protection of clients and the firm.
A spokesperson for BlockFills declined to provide any further comment on the matter, in a note to Fortune.
BlockFills made the move in large part because of the current downturn in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is down roughly 48% from its all-time high in October to its current price of about $66,000 and is down roughly 29% in the past month, according to Binance.
BlockFills primarily functions as a crypto lending platform for hedge funds and other asset managers. This means that the company uses crypto as collateral and provides liquidity to these borrowers. BlockFills has over $60 billion in transaction volume and has more than 2,000 institutional clients, according to its website.
The move by BlockFills echoes activity during the crypto winter of 2022, when several prominent lenders like Celsius and BlockFi also halted customer deposits. The company, however, is less well known and it’s unclear if its troubles will affect the broader market.
Many thought that President Donald’s Trump’s second term would usher in a golden era for cryptocurrencies. The first nine months of his presidency did bring Bitcoin to its record high price, but the downturn has been sharp since then, erasing all of those early gains and more. Trump signed crypto-friendly legislation in July and was expected to sign another landmark bill in January until it stalled.
Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency to sputter. Ethereum is down 40% in the past month to its current price of about $1,919, and Solana is down 45% during that time to its current price of about $78.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com