BlockFi Freezes Withdrawals, Blames FTX And Alameda Research

In the latest repercussions from the demise of the digital asset exchange FTX, the cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi has ceased enabling users to withdraw money.

The firm has immediately released a statement on Twitter informing clients that “lack of clarity” on the status of FTX and its trading subsidiary Alameda Research is to blame.

“We are shocked and dismayed by the news regarding FTX and Alameda. We, like the rest of the world, found out about this situation through Twitter.

Given the lack of clarity on the status of FTX.com, FTX US and Alameda, we are not able to operate business as usual.

Our priority has been and will continue to be to protect our clients and their interests. Until there is further clarity, we are limiting platform activity, including pausing client withdrawals as allowed under our Terms. We will share more specifics as soon as possible. We request that clients not deposit to BlockFi Wallet or Interest Accounts at this time.

We intend to communicate as frequently as possible going forward but anticipate that this will be less frequent than what our clients and other stakeholders are used to.”

BlockFi has over 650,000 funded accounts, $500,000,000 in wallet assets, $2,600,000,000 in yield assets, $3,900,000,000 in total deployable client assets, and $1,800,000,000 in institutional and retail loans, according to its Q2 report on assets under management.

At the time, the company’s net exposure was valued at $600,000,000.