Samourai Wallet founders’ arrest triggers stumble in crypto market

Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other major altcoins experienced a brief decline in value following the news of the arrest of Samourai Wallet founders by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). On April 24, Cointelegraph reported that the CEO and CTO of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill, respectively, were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Within an hour of the DOJ announcement, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 3.6% to $63,710 before recovering slightly to $64,546. Ethereum also dropped by 2.51% to $3,158 and did not bounce back. Other major altcoins, such as PEPE, SHIB, and DOGE, also experienced price declines. These price drops led to the liquidation of long positions in the market. In the last 12 hours, Bitcoin saw $33.08 million worth of long positions liquidated, while Ethereum had $29.88 million. The rest of the crypto market also experienced approximately $23 million in long positions liquidations. This decline in the crypto market occurred alongside escalating geopolitical tension in the Middle East. On April 24, the Israeli military carried out strikes on around 40 locations in Southern Lebanon linked to Hezbollah. The crypto community had already expected short-term volatility following the recent Bitcoin halving event on April 20. Pseudonymous crypto trader Rekt Capital predicted that the next bull market peak will not occur until late 2025, approximately 546 days after the halving. Despite overall positive investor sentiment in the crypto market, the recent arrests were criticized by the crypto community, who feared it could signify a harsh crackdown on crypto by the US government. Some analysts expressed concerns that the arrest was “not a good look for Bitcoin in general.” This article does not provide investment advice and readers should conduct their own research before making any decisions.