The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has denied that any of its employees were involved in posting a recent “unauthorized” tweet claiming that the Spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) was approved, but the crypto community The Department still believes this is not the case.
On January 9, the SEC's official X (formerly Twitter) account posted that it had approved the listing of Bitcoin ETFs on all registered domestic stock exchanges. This turned out to be false, according to a statement from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and the SEC.
Nevertheless, some X experts believe that this post was created by the SEC but may have been sent too soon or in error. Some argue there are clues that suggest why this is not the case.
Now, listen. I think the wording here is important.
Being compromised doesn't necessarily mean hacking.
Fraudulent tweets are not necessarily false.
The SEC has not approved the listing and trading. The reason is… well, the decision hadn't been announced (publicly) yet.
Or…we're screwed, see you later… https://t.co/E7Vcbh8XFR pic.twitter.com/1UnnPi8DEA
— Loma (@LomahCrypto) January 9, 2024
another X user pointed The SEC chose the words “compromised” and “fraudulent” to suggest that the account was not hacked or that the post was scheduled to be sent at a later date.
However, some believe the hack may have actually occurred as claimed, noting that the hashtag and automatically displayed Bitcoin icon were out of place for the SEC.
No, I got a flat tire.
The SEC's official account “told us” when it used the btc emoji cache tag.
” #bitcoin ”
In an “official” tweet. pic.twitter.com/mW3b5nt339
— Compound 248 (@compound248) January 9, 2024
Meanwhile, Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, suggested that both theories could be true at the same time.
“My guess is that the SEC account was hacked and the tweet was genuine,” he said. I have written Posted by X on January 9th. “The hacker first tweeted and then deleted just the ticker. Then, perhaps in his drafts folder, he would have found the tweet containing the announcement graphic and Gensler's quote.”
“Hackers are not the kind of people who would meticulously plan and prepare SEC-style graphics, nor are they stupid enough to tweet a ticker like a meme. So both things are true and the approval An announcement is expected,” Cochrane added.
My guess is that the SEC account was hacked and the tweet was real.
The hacker first tweeted and then deleted just the caption.
Then, perhaps in your drafts folder, you found a tweet with the announcement graphic and Gensler's quote.
I'm sure the SEC won't get the date wrong and just tweet it… pic.twitter.com/RQp7Mo4Zey
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) January 9, 2024
Related: Lawyers, politicians request SEC investigation over Bitcoin ETF posts
Further raising the possibility of a hack was the Likes section of the SEC's official account, which was linked to two crypto-related accounts around the same time the page posted the false announcement. It showed that.
Bitcoin prices fluctuated wildly at dusk on January 9th amid the controversy.
An SEC spokesperson told Cointelegraph that SEC staff had no role in publishing the Bitcoin ETF’s false tweets.
“The SEC’s @SECGov X/Twitter account was compromised. The fraudulent tweets about Bitcoin ETFs were not made by the SEC or its staff.”
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