Editor: Felix, PANews
After the cryptocurrency market crash, the market is speculating which large institution will be the next to “sacrifice” in this round. On the evening of February 11, a major whale in the crypto world officially ran aground.
On February 11, the cryptocurrency trading and lending company Blockfills released astatement indicating that due to recent extreme market volatility and financial conditions, it has temporarily suspended all customer deposit and withdrawal services since last week. However, customers can still open and close positions in spot and derivatives trading, as well as other specific transactions.
Blockfills emphasized that this is to protect customers and the company, and stated that the management is closely communicating and cooperating with investors and customers to strive for a quick recovery of liquidity. Throughout this process, the company will also maintain active communication with customers and will regularly update them on the latest progress based on the development of the situation.
Concerns over Market Chain Reactions Triggered by Turbulent Conditions
BlockFills' statement comes at a time when the crypto market has been in decline for several months, evolving into a full-blown crash last week. Bitcoin had once dropped to a low of $60,000, then rebounded to its current price of $66,000, but is still down about 45% from the historic high set in October last year.
As a liquidity giant serving more than 2,000 institutional clients globally, its suspension is reminiscent of the cryptocurrency winter in 2022, when, as the bear market intensified, many platforms were forced to pause withdrawals, and ultimately many platforms went bankrupt, triggering a chain reaction.
In 2022, Celsius Network, one of the largest cryptocurrency lending platforms at the time, suspended all withdrawals citing extreme market conditions. Weeks later, the platform officially filed for bankruptcy reorganization. That same year, the FTX exchange suspended withdrawals after a bank run, and subsequently its associated lending institution Genesis also halted redemptions due to liquidity pressures. Moreover, Voyager Digital announced a suspension of trading and withdrawals due to defaults on huge loans to Three Arrows Capital. A series of bankruptcies worsened the already bleak market conditions.
Unlike the aforementioned platforms that mainly cater to retail investors, Blockfills’ crisis directly impacts professional institutions and miners. Its suspension of withdrawal services indicates that liquidity pressures in the crypto market have spread to core infrastructure.
Annual Trading Volume Exceeds $60 Billion, Backed by Major Institutional Investments
As an important underlying infrastructure in the cryptocurrency industry, Blockfills, headquartered in Chicago, serves as a bridge connecting traditional finance with crypto assets.
Founded in 2018, Blockfills provides cryptocurrency liquidity, trading execution, and lending services to over 2,000 institutional clients across 95 countries, including hedge funds, asset management firms, family offices, liquidity providers, and cryptocurrency mining companies, and does not directly target retail investors.
According to Blockfills' officialdata, the platform's trading volume surpassed $61.1 billion in 2025, an increase of 28% from 2024. Among this, spot trading volume exceeded $17.9 billion, while derivatives trading volume exceeded $40.8 billion.
In addition, the platform enjoys strong shareholder support. Blockfills raised $6 million in 2021 and another $37 million in 2022, with investors including global quantitative trading giant Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLLP and CME Ventures (the venture capital arm of the CME Group).
Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLLP is a private equity investment entity under Susquehanna International Group (SIG). SIG is a quantitative trading and market-making firm whose business spans stocks, energy, and digital assets. According to disclosures in the Q3 2025 documents, SIG's public securities investment portfolio management scale is approximately $874.9 billion.
CME Ventures, as the strategic investment arm of the world's largest derivatives exchange CME Group, held approximately $4.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents by early 2026. The total revenue for 2025 reached $6.5 billion (a historical high), with an operating profit of about $4.2 billion. This indicates that CME Ventures has stable and substantial capital support.
Blockfills' suspension of deposit and withdrawal services marks the first significant liquidity crisis amid this year's volatile market. It remains unclear whether Blockfills will achieve a “soft landing” through funding or will head towards bankruptcy liquidation. However, it is reassuring that Blockfills is backed by strong shareholders, which may offer hope for overcoming the crisis.
Related reading: Threefold Resonance at Bitcoin's Bottom: The Ultimate Direction of Macroeconomics, On-Chain, and Miner Economics
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