U.S. senators urge SEC to clarify misleading tweets about Bitcoin ETF
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U.S. Senators JD Vance and Thom Tillis urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide Congress with a detailed report on the January 9 X account breach.
In a letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on January 9, Vance and Tillis expressed deep concerns about the SEC’s cybersecurity measures, saying that the incident was inconsistent with the SEC’s mission to protect investors and ensure efficient markets. and contradicts its mission of aiding capital formation.
The letter refers to widely cited breaches that led to the spread of false information about the U.S. approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Senators highlighted the confusion caused by the breach and emphasized the importance of the SEC complying with recently established rules regarding disclosure of cybersecurity incidents within four days. They requested a report on the violations by Jan. 23 to clarify whether the SEC can comply with its own disclosure mandate.
On January 9, the SEC’s X account posted a false tweet claiming that the United States approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, causing a brief stir in the cryptocurrency community. This was short-lived, however, as SEC Chairman Gary Gensler later confirmed that the account had been compromised and that the tweet was unauthorized.
The incident caused a violent market reaction, with the price of Bitcoin briefly soaring to around $47,900 before falling to around $46,100.
X’s internal investigation disclose This account is not protected by two-factor authentication. The breach occurred when an unauthorized individual took control of a phone number associated with an SEC account, while the social media platform’s systems were not compromised in any way.
Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Bill Hagerty and Rep. Ann Wagner also expressed concerns. Hagerty demanded full transparency into the matter, while Lummis stressed the need for clear communication to prevent market manipulation.
It is widely expected that a spot Bitcoin ETF may receive approval from U.S. financial regulators in the near future, with trading widely expected to begin on January 11.
