Speculation is rife within the crypto community following a false announcement regarding the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account. The incident has led to questions about whether this was an inside job, designed to delay or halt the anticipated product.
Gabor Gurbacs, the director of digital asset initiatives at investment management firm VanEck, which is also competing for a spot Bitcoin ETF, took to Twitter to question if the SEC had intentionally staged the event. The SEC’s X account had tweeted that the agency had approved spot Bitcoin ETFs to be listed on all national securities exchanges in the U.S, promising investors access to cryptocurrencies within a regulated framework.
However, within an hour, SEC chair Gary Gensler debunked the news, labeling it unauthorized and revealing that the X account had been compromised due to a lack of two-factor authentication. Contrary to the tweet, Gensler stated that the SEC had not approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The tweet has since been deleted.
Gurbacs also speculated that the agency might have prematurely published the announcement, adding that it would be “unreasonable” to delay the approval based on this event. This speculation was supported by comments under Gurbacs’ tweet, which questioned the speed at which the SEC regained control of their hacked account.
Amidst the speculation, two U.S. senators, J.D. Vance and Thom Tillis, have demanded that the SEC publish a detailed report on the incident by January 23. The senators expressed “serious concerns” about the Commission’s internal cybersecurity procedures, stating that such a “colossal error” was unacceptable for an agency at the heart of the world’s capital markets.
The senators also highlighted the extreme volatility in the price of Bitcoin that resulted from the announcement and subsequent reversal. They noted that investors were, and remain, incredibly confused by the Commission’s communications surrounding the long-awaited and consequential decision regarding Bitcoin ETFs.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | negative |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Gary Gensler, J.D. Vance, Thom Tillis, Gabor Gurbacs |
| Companies | Binance Futures, CryptoPotato, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, VanEck |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | None |
