Gary Gensler reports SEC X account ‘compromised’ — No spot Bitcoin ETF approval yet

Gensler’s post came 15 minutes after the SEC’s X account falsely reported that spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed it has not yet approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products, and that a previous post suggesting so, was false. 

On Jan. 9, multiple news outlets published an inaccurate story after the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the SEC posted a tweet claiming that the regulator had approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds for the first time.

Approximately 15 minutes later, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the commission had “not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.” Various news outlets — including Cointelegraph, Blockworks and Reuters — had initially reported on the story from the SEC before Gensler’s statement.

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

The initial “unauthorized post” claimed that the commission had granted approval for Bitcoin ETFs to be listed on U.S. exchanges, showing a photo and faked quote from the SEC chair. 

The SEC also pulled the initial tweet — though it had already racked up millions of views at that point.

The @SECGov X account was compromised, and an unauthorized post was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.

— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) January 9, 2024

In a statement to Cointelegraph, the SEC said the unauthorized tweet “was not made by the SEC or its staff.”

“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.”

Many had expected the commission to release a decision on a spot Bitcoin ETF sometime in the next two days after several asset managers completed some of the final filings for their applications.

Though the social media post was false, the SEC may still approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. Neither Gensler’s nor the SEC’s tweet stated that the commission had plans to approve or deny the investment vehicle. A decision is expected on spot BTC ETF from ARK Invest and 21Shares by Jan. 10, which some experts believe could lead to simultaneous approvals for other asset managers.

Related: Spot Bitcoin ETF incoming? Outcomes investors may see from the SEC this week

Before Gensler’s statement claiming the SEC X account was compromised, crypto users and the market reacted accordingly. The price of BTC surged roughly 2.5% from $46,729 to $47,901 before dropping roughly 7% to $44,701. At the time of publication, the BTC price was under $46,000, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

Some on social media suggested the information contained in the retracted SEC tweet was accurate, but released prematurely. The commission’s X account showed it “liked” two replies to the false tweet from random users — unusual activity from the SEC.

Gary is gonna want someone’s head to roll for this. (Honestly i would too if i were him). Just better hope it isn’t taken out on these potential ETF issuers.

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 9, 2024

Magazine: Should crypto projects ever negotiate with hackers? Probably

Update (Jan. 9 at 10:38 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from the SEC.