Nicholas Hammer, co-founder and CEO of crypto lender Blockfills, has stepped down from his leadership role, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The company’s website now lists Joseph Perry as the interim CEO. A company spokesman confirmed that Hammer was CEO until July 2025.
The leadership change comes as the firm suffered losses of about $75 million and suspended client deposits and withdrawals earlier this month.
Blockfills is also said to have encouraged some customers to withdraw their crypto assets before the platform stopped deposits and withdrawals on February 11, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is private. Customer deposits remain suspended as of the time of publication.
CoinDesk reported last week that the Chicago-based firm was looking for a buyer after the losses.
Hammer did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication. His LinkedIn profile, from 17:58 UTC on February 25, still shows him as CEO of Blockfills.
The firm said in the February 11 press release that it was working with investors and customers to reach a quick resolution and restore liquidity to the platform.
“Clients have been able to continue trading with BlockFills for the purpose of opening and closing positions in spot and derivatives trading and selecting other circumstances,” the company said at the time.
Blockfills’ abrupt halt in withdrawals revives memories of the crypto winter of 2022, when firms including Celsius, BlockFi and Genesis froze client accounts as markets unraveled.
The market has struggled to regain traction in early 2026, with major tokens well below recent highs amid a cautious mood. Bitcoin has remained below $70,000 after a sharp pullback from its late-2025 all-time high, while ether (ETH) is trading around $2,000 on weakness across the digital asset market.
The company said it handled more than $60 billion in trading volume by 2025, up 28% from a year earlier, and is among the most active institutional crypto lending and borrowing desks. It serves around 2,000 institutional clients, including hedge funds, asset managers and mining companies.
Blockfills is backed by investors including Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, CME Ventures, Simplex Ventures, C6E and Nexo. The company raised $37 million in a Series A funding round in January 2022.
Read more: Susquehanna-backed Blockfills for sale after $75 million in loan losses
UPDATE (February 25 at 18:00 UTC): Updating the story with the company’s comment on the CEO’s departure.
