On Tuesday, Bitcoin experienced a brief surge following a post on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account (previously known as Twitter), which claimed that the regulator had approved new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on cryptocurrency.
However, the SEC later retracted the post, stating that their account had been compromised.
The social media platform clarified that the breach of the SEC’s account was not due to any failure in their security systems.
This week, US regulators are anticipated to announce their decision regarding the new ETFs.
The erroneous post appeared on the SEC’s official X account around 16:00 Washington time (21:00 GMT), stating that the SEC had authorized the listing of #Bitcoin ETFs on all registered national securities exchanges. This announcement was quickly circulated by social media users and business news outlets.
Shortly after, SEC Chair Gary Gensler addressed the issue on his personal X account, confirming that the @SECGov account was compromised and the tweet was unauthorized. He clarified that the SEC had not approved the trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.
An SEC spokesperson informed the BBC that an unknown party had gained unauthorized access to the @SECGov X.com account briefly after 4 pm ET. The access was promptly terminated, and the SEC is collaborating with law enforcement and government partners to investigate the incident and determine further actions regarding the unauthorized access and any related misconduct.
Later, X announced the completion of a preliminary investigation into the false post on the SEC’s account, confirming that the compromise was not due to a breach of X’s systems. Instead, it was attributed to an unidentified individual gaining control over a phone number linked to the @SECGov account through a third party. The account did not have two-factor authentication enabled at the time of the compromise.
Following the false announcement, Bitcoin’s value momentarily spiked to nearly $48,000 (£37,800) before settling back to around $46,000.
Investors are eagerly awaiting the SEC’s announcement on the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, expected later this week. Approval would represent a significant step in integrating the cryptocurrency market into mainstream financial markets.
Several asset management firms have sought SEC approval for spot Bitcoin ETFs. ETFs are investment funds traded on stock exchanges, mirroring the performance of their underlying assets. While some ETFs currently include Bitcoin indirectly, a spot Bitcoin ETF would directly purchase the cryptocurrency at its current market price.
