Following news of the arrest of Samourai Wallet's CEO and chief technology officer by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the crypto market experienced heightened volatility. Bitcoin, Ether, and major altcoins saw brief declines amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and post-halving market fluctuations.

On April 24, reports emerged that Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill, CEO and chief technology officer of Samourai Wallet, respectively, were facing legal action from the DOJ, charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Within an hour of the announcement, Bitcoin's price dropped by 3.6%, briefly falling below key support levels to $63,710 before a partial recovery to $64,546. Similarly, Ether experienced a 2.51% decline, dropping to $3,158.

Other major altcoins also saw declines, with PEPE experiencing a 6.4% drop, Shiba Inu declining by 2.7%, and Dogecoin briefly dipping 3.2% following the news.

The sharp price drops triggered significant liquidation of long positions across the market. Bitcoin saw $33.08 million worth of long positions liquidated, while Ether had $29.88 million liquidated, along with approximately $23 million across other cryptocurrencies.

These developments occurred against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as Israeli military strikes targeted locations linked to Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

The market had already anticipated short-term volatility following the recent Bitcoin halving on April 20. However, the arrests added further uncertainty, with some in the crypto community expressing concerns about potential government crackdowns.

Critics viewed the arrests as an aggressive move by the U.S. government against privacy-focused crypto projects. Analysts and commentators highlighted the potential implications for the broader crypto industry, suggesting that the situation could have far-reaching consequences beyond Samourai Wallet.