Whoops! SEC says social media account was 'compromised' and it hasn't approved spot bitcoin ETFs

After the SEC's X account made a post announcing the approval of bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, the agency clarified that its X account had been "compromised" and that it "has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products."

The post, which came amid widespread anticipation that the SEC may soon greenlight spot bitcoin ETFs, apparently caused a brief spike in the cryptocurrency's price, quickly followed by a price drop, likely as people learned the post was not authorized.

"Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges," the post, which has apparently been deleted, read, according to a screenshot. "The approved Bitcoin ETFs will be subject to ongoing surveillance and compliance measures to ensure continued investor protection."

The SEC and its chair, Gary Gensler, announced that such approval had not been given: "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," Gensler tweeted.

"The SEC has determined that there was unauthorized 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. That unauthorized access has been terminated. 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 unauthorized access and any related misconduct," an SEC spokesperson noted in a statement, according to reports.

Republican Sens. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming called for clarity on what lead to the debacle.

"Just like the SEC would demand accountability from a public company if they made such a colossal market-moving mistake, Congress needs answers on what just happened. This is unacceptable," Hagerty tweeted.

"Fraudulent announcements, like the one that was made on the SEC's social media, can manipulate markets. We need transparency on what happened," Lummis tweeted.

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