KEY POINTS
- The price of Bitcoin surged to nearly $48,000 following the tweet
- Crypto bigwigs hailed it as a historic moment for the nascent industry
- After the dust settled, Bitcoin traded in the red zone at $45,990.52 in the early hours of Wednesday
Social media platform X has confirmed that the official account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was "compromised" after it falsely announced the approval of the eagerly awaited spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
After an eventful afternoon that was fueled by the frenzy caused by a false tweet from the SEC's official account, X Safety – the authorized X account responsible for providing information on the latest safety tools, resources, as well as social media platform updates – confirmed that the controversial tweet was posted by a "compromised account."
"We can confirm that the account @SECGov was compromised and we have completed a preliminary investigation," X Safety shared.
It added the compromise was not due to any breach in the social media platform's systems "but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number associated with the @SECGov account through a third party."
We can confirm that the account @SECGov was compromised and we have completed a preliminary investigation. Based on our investigation, the compromise was not due to any breach of X’s systems. but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number…
— Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2024
Moreover, the SEC account "did not have two-factor authentication enabled at the time the account was compromised," which made it easier for the individual to take over.
At around 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the official X account of the SEC shared it had approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, saying, "Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin # ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges. The approved Bitcoin ETFs will be subject to ongoing surveillance and compliance measures to ensure continued investor protection."
The tweet also had a message from SEC Chair Gary Gensler: "Today's approval enhances market transparency and provides investors with efficient access to digital asset investments within a regulated framework."
So the SEC got “hacked” then regained control of their account faster than anyone ever has after being hacked and deleted the tweet..?
— Walker⚡️ (@WalkerAmerica) January 9, 2024
Riiiiiiight… pic.twitter.com/PNZf5I5BKR
The price of Bitcoin immediately surged to nearly $48,000 following the tweet.
Coinbase, one of the world's largest centralized crypto exchange platforms by trading volume and the custodian for nine of the 12 proposed Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., went as far as posting a celebratory banner, while crypto bigwigs hailed it as a historic moment for the nascent industry.
Amid the euphoric state of the crypto industry, Gensler, at around 4:26 p.m. ET, tweeted the agency's official X account was compromised, which resulted in an "unauthorized tweet" that falsely claimed the SEC had approved spot bitcoin ETFs.
"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," Gensler said.
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.
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024
After the dust settled, Bitcoin traded in the red zone at $45,990.52, with its 24-hour trading volume down by 11.03% at $38,087,329,849 as of 1:09 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Bitcoin's latest price action represents a 1.80% dip in its value for the day and a 1.58% gain over the past seven days.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that Bitcoin's current circulating supply stands at 19,594,375 BTC and its market cap is at $902,317,692,024.
