Prices of cryptocurrencies swung sharply on Tuesday after a false post on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s official X account claimed the regulator had approved the first ever US spot bitcoin exchange traded funds.
The fake post declared just after 4pm Washington time that the SEC “grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges”. It was picked up immediately on social media, business news websites and Bloomberg TV.
Just over 10 minutes later, the SEC chair poured cold water on the announcement. Gary Gensler posted on his personal account on X: “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.”