Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested, Panic in Bitcoin and Altcoins!
There was a sudden decline in Bitcoin, Ether and other major altcoins. This decline was accompanied by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) arrest of the founders of Samourai Wallet and ongoing Middle East tensions, as well as the shadow of post-Bitcoin halving volatility. On April 24, Cointelegraph reported that cryptocurrency wallet Samourai Wallet's CEO Keonne Rodriguez and CTO William Hill are facing charges of money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer service.
One hour after the Department of Justice’s announcement, the Bitcoin price fell 3.6%. Its price rebounded slightly to $64,546 after falling below key support levels at $63,710, according to CoinMarketCap data. Meanwhile, Ether fell 2.51% in the same time frame but failed to bounce back and fell to $3,158.
Among the largest altcoins, PEPE dropped 6.4% for a short time, Shiba dropped 2.7% and Dogecoin dropped 3.2% for a short time after the announcement. Sudden price declines in the top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization triggered widespread liquidation of long positions.
According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin has seen $33.08 million in long position liquidations in the last 12 hours; $29.88 million in long positions were liquidated in Ether and approximately $23 million in the rest of the crypto market.
The decline in the cryptocurrency market coincided with the further escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. According to local news, the Israeli army struck approximately 40 sites affiliated with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on April 24. The crypto community was already predicting that there would be some volatility in the short term after the Bitcoin halving event that took place just a few days ago.
The crypto investor, who goes by the pseudonym Rekt Capital, told his 456,400 followers on April 24 that he expects the next bull market peak to occur in late 2025, approximately 546 days after the halving. These fluctuations occurred despite overall positive investor sentiment in the crypto market.
According to the Fear & Greed Index, which measures the crypto market pulse, the “greed” score rose to 72 this week, a 15-point increase from last week.
The crypto community has criticized the latest arrests over concerns that it could be another attempt by the US government to crack down heavily on cryptocurrency.
Crypto analyst Ryan Adams said in his post on April 24, “These developers face up to 25 years in prison for writing code. The USA is sending a message. No transaction will be secret.”
Meanwhile, Fred Krueger claimed in his post on the same day that the arrest “is not a good look for Bitcoin in general.”
Crypto commentator Luke Mikic told his 26,800 followers that “this attack by the US government on the Samourai Wallet is bigger than most people realize.”
