The Crypto Market Stumbled When The Founders Of Zamora Wallet Were Arrested.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and major altcoins fell briefly on news of the arrest of Samurai Wallet founders by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) against a backdrop of continued Middle East tensions and post-halving volatility.
On April 24, Cointelegraph reported that Samourai Wallet CEO Keonne Rodriguez and Chief Technology Officer William Hill each face one count of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to conduct an unauthorized money transfer business.
Within an hour of the DOJ's announcement, the price of Bitcoin fell 3.6 percent. The price fell below key support levels to $63,710 before recovering slightly to $64,546, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Meanwhile, Ether fell 2.51% in the same timeframe, but failed to bounce back, falling to $3,158.
The biggest altcoins also took a hit; Meanwhile, PEPE (PEPE) briefly lost 6.4%, Shiba I (SHIB) lost 2.7%, and Dogecoin (DOGE) briefly fell 3.2% following the announcement.
The sharp decline in market capitalization has led to a widening of long positions in the two major cryptocurrencies.
In the last 12 hours, Bitcoin has seen $33.08 million worth of long positions liquidated; Ether had $29.88 million, and nearly $23 million in long positions across the rest of the crypto market, according to data released by CoinGlass.
The decline in the crypto market also comes against the backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
On April 24, local reports indicated that the Israeli army struck about 40 sites linked to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The crypto community was already anticipating some short-term volatility following the Bitcoin halving event that took place a few days ago on April 20.
Anonymous crypto trader Rect Capital told their 456,400 X followers on April 24 that they predict the next peak of the bull market won't happen until the end of 2025, 546 days after the halving.
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The upheaval came despite overall positive investor sentiment in the crypto market.
According to the Fear and Greed Index, which measures crypto market sentiment, the “Greed” score rose to 72 this week, a 15-point increase from last week.
The crypto community has criticized the recent arrest, fearing it could be another attempt by the US government to crack down on crypto.
“These developers face up to 25 years in prison for writing code. America is sending a message. No transaction is private,” crypto analyst Ryan Adams said in an April 24 post.
Meanwhile, Fred Kruger said on the X-Post the same day that the arrest “doesn't look good for Bitcoin in general.”
Crypto analyst Luke Mikic told his 26,800X followers that this “US government attack on the Samurai wallet is bigger than most people think.”
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
