Nicholas Hammer, co-founder and CEO of crypto lender Blockfills, has stepped down from his management function, based on an individual with direct information of the matter.
The agency’s web site now lists Joseph Perry because the interim CEO. An organization spokesperson confirmed that Hammer was CEO till July 2025.
The change of management comes because the agency has suffered losses of round $75 million and suspended consumer deposits and withdrawals earlier this month.
Blockfills can also be mentioned to have urged some purchasers to withdraw their crypto property earlier than the platform halted deposits and withdrawals on Feb. 11, the individual mentioned, who spoke on situation of anonymity because the matter is personal. Buyer deposits stay suspended as of publication time.
CoinDesk reported final week that the Chicago-based agency was looking for a purchaser after the losses.
Hammer didn’t reply to a request for remark by the publication time. His LinkedIn profile, as of 5.58 pm UTC on Feb. 25, nonetheless lists him as CEO of Blockfills.
The agency mentioned within the Feb. 11 press launch that it was working with buyers and purchasers to achieve a swift decision and restore liquidity to the platform.
“Shoppers have been ready to proceed buying and selling with BlockFills for the aim of opening and shutting positions in spot and derivatives buying and selling and choose different circumstances,” the corporate mentioned on the time.
Blockfills’ abrupt halt to withdrawals revives recollections of the 2022 crypto winter, when corporations together with Celsius, BlockFi and Genesis froze buyer accounts as markets unraveled.
The market has struggled to regain traction in early 2026, with main tokens nicely under latest highs amid cautious sentiment. Bitcoin has remained under $70,000 after a pointy pullback from its late-2025 all-time excessive, whereas ether (ETH) trades round $2,000 amid weak point throughout the digital asset market.
The corporate mentioned it dealt with greater than $60 billion in buying and selling quantity in 2025, up 28% from a yr earlier, and ranks among the many most energetic institutional crypto lending and borrowing desks. It serves roughly 2,000 institutional purchasers, together with hedge funds, asset managers and mining corporations.
Blockfills is backed by buyers together with Susquehanna Non-public Fairness Investments, CME Ventures, Simplex Ventures, C6E and Nexo. The corporate raised $37 million in a January 2022 Sequence A funding spherical.
Learn extra: Susquehanna-backed Blockfills up on the market after $75 million lending loss
UPDATE (Feb. 25, 6 pm UTC): Updates story with the corporate’s touch upon the CEO’s departure.