Bitcoin. Image: GETTY IMAGES
Cryptocurrency fluctuates as X account gets ‘compromised’.
Bitcoin rose temporarily on Tuesday after a post on the US markets regulator’s X account (previously Twitter) stated it had approved new bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Later, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) erased the tweet and stated that its account had been “compromised.”
The social networking company has stated that the compromised account was not the result of a system breach.
This week, US regulators are anticipated to make a statement about the new ETFs.
The fake post came shortly after 16:00 Washington time (21:00 GMT) on the SEC’s official X account.
It stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission “grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges” .
Social media users quickly caught up on the post and quoted it.
Within minutes, SEC Chair Gary Gensler tweeted a response on his personal X account contradicting the incorrect announcement: “The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorised tweet was posted.
” The listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products has not been permitted by the SEC.”
“The SEC has determined that there was unauthorised access to and activity on the @SECGov x.com account by an unknown party for a brief period of time shortly after 4 pm ET,” a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spokeswoman told reporters.
“That unauthorised access has been terminated,” they went on to say.
“The SEC will work with law enforcement and our partners across government to investigate the matter and determine appropriate next steps relating to both the unauthorised access and any related misconduct.”
X stated later on Tuesday that it has finished an initial investigation into the fictitious post on the SEC’s account and discovered that it was not the result of a system breach on the social media site.
“We can confirm that the @SECGov Twitter account was compromised, and we have conducted a preliminary investigation,” X stated.
“Upon investigation, it was determined that the compromise did not result from any breach of X’s systems.
Instead, it occurred due to an unidentified individual gaining control over a phone number associated with the @SECGov account through a third party,” the statement added.
“We can also confirm that the account did not have two-factor authentication enabled at the time of the compromise.”
Bitcoin experienced a sudden surge to nearly $48,000 (£37,800) following the erroneous post before subsequently decreasing to approximately $46,000.”
This week, the SEC is expected to make an announcement regarding the possible approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, which is highly anticipated by investors.
It would be a significant turning point in the cryptocurrency markets’ acceptance by traditional financial markets.
For SEC approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, a number of asset management companies have submitted applications.
ETFs are investment portfolios that let investors speculate on a variety of assets without having to purchase any of them directly.
Similar to shares, they are traded on stock exchanges and their value is determined by the real-time performance of the entire portfolio.
While some ETFs already indirectly own Bitcoin, a spot Bitcoin ETF will buy the cryptocurrency “on the spot” throughout the day at the current price.