Crypto market stumbles amid arrest of Samourai Wallet founders

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The prices of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other significant cryptocurrencies experienced a brief dip due to two simultaneous events: the arrest of Samourai Wallet’s founders by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, all while dealing with the aftermath of the recent halving and its resulting market volatility.

On April 24, according to CryptoMoon’s report, the CEO of cryptocurrency wallet Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez, and its CTO, William Hill, are each charged with one count of conspiring to facilitate money laundering and one count of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transfer business.

Approximately one hour after the Department of Justice (DOJ) made their announcement, Bitcoin’s value decreased by 3.6%. The price fell beneath significant support thresholds, reaching a low of $63,710 according to CoinMarketCap records. Later on, it rebounded somewhat and was priced at $64,546.

During the same period, Ethereum decreased by 2.51%, yet it couldn’t recover and instead sank lower to reach $3,158.

The bigger altcoins suffered losses as well. PEPE went down by 6.4%, SHIB had a decrease of 2.7%, and DOGE saw a momentary drop of 3.2% after the news broke.

When the prices of the two most valuable cryptocurrencies suddenly decreased significantly, many investors were forced to sell their holdings (long positions) due to the resulting market turbulence.

Over the past 12 hours, Bitcoin recorded about $33.08 million in long position liquidations according to CoinGlass data. Ethereum followed closely with approximately $29.88 million worth of long positions being liquidated. The remaining crypto market experienced around $23 million in long position liquidations.

In the midst of increasing geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, the crypto market is experiencing a downturn as well.

According to local reports, the Israeli military targeted around 40 sites connected to Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon on April 24th.

People in the cryptocurrency world had expected some price fluctuations in the near term after the Bitcoin halving took place on April 20, a few days prior.

A cryptocurrency trader using the alias Rekt Capital shared with his 456,400 followers on April 24 that he anticipates the next market peak for bull run won’t arrive until around late 2025 – roughly 546 days following the upcoming halving event.

The fluctuations came despite overall positive investor sentiment in the crypto market.

Based on the Fear and Greed Index’s assessment of crypto market emotions, the gauge for greed grew by 15 points this week, reaching a level of 72.

Members of the cryptocurrency world expressed concern over the latest arrests, worrying that this could represent a renewed effort by the US authorities to impose strict regulations on digital currencies.

In a recent post on April 24th, cryptocurrency expert Ryan Adams warned that these programmers could potentially spend up to 25 years in prison for coding certain things. The U.S. government is making it clear: there will be no secrecy in transactions.

Fred Krueger asserted through a post on X that day, “The arrest isn’t beneficial for Bitcoin as a whole.”

Luke Mikic, with a following of 26,800 on crypto, expressed to his audience that the recent government action against Samourai wallet is more significant than many realize. (Or: Luke Mikic, who has 26,800 followers on crypto, mentioned to his audience that the US Government’s move against Samourai wallet carries greater implications than most people appreciate.)

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2024-04-25 06:37