Silicon Alley alternative currency play Flooz has blocked access to account information on its Web site, helping to fuel talk that the company is facing a complete shutdown.

Company officials, including founder and chief executive Robert Levitan have not returned calls or responded to e-mails seeking comment on the future of the company.

Yesterday, the following note was posted on the Flooz homepage: "We are currently unable to process your transaction. Check back for further updates. We apologize for this inconvenience.

A company statement was expected Friday morning but, at press time (midday), there was no word from the company.

Web merchants that accept the Flooz payment method have pulled the payment option from their e-commerce sites, some at the request of Flooz. Barnes&Noble.com and Tower Records were among companies no longer accepting the Flooz alternative currency.

Flooz, a homegrown start-up counted Whoopi Goldberg among its supporters, had gone through two separate rounds of layoffs this year.

Since its launch in 1999, the company has raised more than $50 million. Last February, it closed a 27 million financing round from a group of investors including NBC.

Joining the media giant in that round were online credit issuer NextCard, b-to-b software supplier Mobius Management Systems and Japanese telecom investors Hikari Tsushin, Inc. Also pumping money into Flooz.Com were earlier round investors Oak Investment Partner, Brentwood Venture Capital, and Silicon Alley Venture Partners, among others.