SEC X Account Hacked, Sends False 'Bitcoin ETFs Approved' Message
SEC releases false announcement on Bitcoin ETFs approval. The regulator claims hacking of X account, the community believes SEC is manipulating the market.
Last Tuesday, Bitcoin's price jumped sharply to $48,000 before dropping to $45,000 amid a false SEC post in X about the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The fake post garnered more than 35,000 likes and over 26,000 retweets within 18 minutes. Not long after the tweet was published, Gary Gensler refuted the claim, saying that the official X account had been compromised.
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 regulator said the unauthorized access has been stopped, and an investigation is underway.
Versions behind what happened
The SEC claims that unknown individuals accessed the X account to write a false message. Representatives of the social network also confirmed this information. No vulnerability was found in the platform's security system. One of the reasons, according to them, was the lack of two-factor authentication.
Safety reported its own investigation. Based on its version, an unknown person gained access to the phone number linked to the account through a third party. The regulator intends to conduct an investigation in cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
We can confirm that the account @SECGov was compromised and we have completed a preliminary investigation. Based on our investigation, the compromise was not due to any breach of X’s systems, but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number…
— Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2024
The crypto community is sure that there was no hack. They came up with several versions. The first is that the message was published ahead of schedule. This is indicated by the similar style of the writing. In this case, the hacker posted a message already planned by the regulator, or it was done by the SEC representatives themselves. Mark Moss joined the claim that the Commission had faked the hacking incident. He found it doubtful that the SEC was able to restore access to the account in a matter of minutes, when investigations into real incidents take much longer.
Was this really a hack?
— Mark Moss (@1MarkMoss) January 9, 2024
and the SEC got it back in minutes? 🤔
My account was hacked in Aug and it took 5 months, 30+ support tickets as well as reaching several people inside X to get it back
My guess, this was scheduled in their account to go out tomorrow, and the intern… https://t.co/wgBtpzjw8f
The second version takes on a more nasty character. The community suggested market manipulation after the publication of a report from journalist Charles Gasparino. The community fueled the idea, which is that the Commission deliberately made the move to test the market's reaction. Fueling this theory was the fact that the day before the potential approval of the Bitcoin ETFs, Gary Gensler reported on the risks of market manipulation, which seemed suspicious. Speaking of which, the fake SEC publication caused a sharp spike in the Bitcoin price and an equally sharp pullback as a reaction to the unreliability of the news. This led to the liquidation of Bitcoin short positions totaling $90 million.
A thread 🧵
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 8, 2024
Some things to keep in mind if you're considering investing in crypto assets:
The SEC is subject to an investigation
The SEC is in a quandary. The regulator's negative attitude to the cryptocurrency market is characterized as capricious and unreasonable. For several years, the Commission, and Gensler have been trying to hinder the development of the crypto market by speaking negatively online or in the Senate and citing increased risks of volatility and market manipulation. The protracted approval process of the Bitcoin ETFs and numerous litigations with crypto companies have also raised many questions. The SEC's position has caused discontent not only among the crypto community, but also among the authorities. Lawyers suggest investigating the regulator for market manipulation and failure to comply with cybersecurity rules.
Senators Vance and Tillis have gotten involved in the incident. They are demanding a report from the Commission on what happened. They expressed concerns about cybersecurity. Other government officials have also demanded an explanation from Gensler.
🚨BREAKING: Senators @JDVance1 & @SenThomTillis Demand Explanation For The SEC's Errant Announcement Of The Approval Of Spot-Bitcoin ETFs
— Senator Vance Press Office (@SenVancePress) January 10, 2024
"It is unacceptable that the agency entrusted with regulating the epicenter of the world’s capital markets would make such a colossal error." pic.twitter.com/xG77jM9xAM
The community is confident that the incident will not affect the SEC's decision and the timing of its release. Meanwhile, Bitcoin was trading at $45,675 at the time of writing.
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