SEC’s Bitcoin ETF Approval Tweet Is Fake as X Account Hacked – Bitcoin Price Rise and Selloff Leads to $50M Liquidation

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed that it has not yet approved the listing and trading of a Bitcoin ETF for spot trading, and previous posts suggested this was false.

On January 9, several news outlets published inaccurate reports after the SEC’s official X (Twitter) account tweeted that the regulator had approved the first spot Bitcoin ETF.

About 15 minutes later, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said the commission “has not yet approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products.”

this @SECGov The Twitter account was compromised and unauthorized tweets were posted. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products.

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024

“The official Twitter account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Was leaked and posted unauthorized tweets. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products. “

The initial “unauthorized post” claimed that the commission had authorized the listing of a Bitcoin ETF on a U.S. exchange and showed a false photo and quote from the SEC chairman.

The SEC also retracted the original tweet — even though it garnered millions of views at the time.

The unauthorized tweet “was not posted by the SEC or its employees,” the SEC said in a statement.

“The SEC’s X/Twitter @SECGov account has been compromised. The unauthorized tweets regarding Bitcoin ETFs were not posted by the SEC or its employees.”

Many expect the committee to make a decision on a spot Bitcoin ETF within the next two days, after several asset managers completed some final applications.

Fake Bitcoin ETF approval post on X, later deleted. Source:X

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may approve a spot Bitcoin ETF despite fake social media posts. Neither Gensler’s nor the SEC’s tweets indicated that the commission planned to approve or disapprove the investment vehicle. ARK Invest and 21Shares are expected to make decisions on spot BTC ETFs on January 10, which some experts believe could lead to other asset managers receiving approval at the same time.

Some on social media said the information in the SEC’s retracted tweet was accurate but was posted prematurely. The Commission’s X account showed that it “liked” two random users’ replies to the misleading tweets—unusual activity from the SEC.

Bitcoin surge and plunge trigger liquidation

Bitcoin experienced wild swings during Tuesday’s trading session after the fake news broke, leaving market participants confused.

Bitcoin rose 2.5% for the first time to a 19-month high of $47,900 after account Electronics quickly posted a fake tweet celebrating the landmark decision.

Bitcoin has since plunged nearly 7% to a low of $44,701 after SEC Chairman Gary Gensler denied the news.

Bitcoin price chart. Source: TradingView

CoinGlass data shows that the wild price action liquidated more than $50 million in Bitcoin derivatives trading positions on cryptocurrency exchanges in one hour. Liquidations occur when an exchange uses borrowed funds to actively close a trader’s open positions due to margin losses.

Source: Coinglass

Alex Krüger, co-founder of Asgard Markets, pointed out that today’s events show that when the real news of approval arrives, Bitcoin may not rise as high as bulls hope.