SEC's X account compromised to post fake spot bitcoin ETF approval

Published 1 minute earlier on

Quick Take

The SEC’s X account was compromised Tuesday to post a fake announcement that spot bitcoin ETFs had been approved.
Despite this, approval is still expected to happen tomorrow.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's X account was compromised to post a fake spot bitcoin ETF approval.

"The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

The account had posted that the SEC had granted approval for listing bitcoin ETFs on all registered securities exchanges with an image showing a quote by Gensler.

"The SEC's @SECGov X/Twitter account has been compromised. The unauthorized tweet regarding bitcoin ETFs was not made by the SEC or its staff," a spokesperson for the SEC told The Block.

Despite the fake approval, it is widely expected that spot bitcoin ETFs will be approved on Wednesday with trading to begin the following day.

The price of bitcoin spike to $47,600 on the fake announcement before dropping to around $45,500 after the news was deemed fake.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

About Author

Tim is the Editor-In-Chief of The Block. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He has earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.