The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) account posted an announcement at around 4:18 p.m. Washington time on Tuesday, January 9: all applications for the launch of a Bitcoin ETF have been approved. Bitcoin managed to react with a sharp price fluctuation, but the announcement was announced by a tweet from hackers who hacked the account and was deleted.
The response from the main American regulator was expected just before January 10.
“Today the SEC gives permission for the listing of Bitcoin ETFs on all registered national securities exchanges. “Bitcoin ETFs will be subject to ongoing oversight and compliance with investor protection measures,” the agency said in an announcement on its X (formerly Twitter) page.
Bitcoin reacted instantly, soaring to $48,100 per coin. And then sharply falling first to $45,090, and at some point even to $44,117.
One of the reasons for the fall: SEC Chairman Gary Gensler promptly, after 15 minutes, released a post on his personal account:
“The SEC's Twitter account was hacked and an unauthorized tweet was posted.. The Commission did not approve the listing and trading of Bitcoin spot exchange products.”.
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
Angry commentators and Bitcoin investors who felt deceived began to mock the official:
Some major media outlets rushed to report the good news about the approval of the Bitcoin ETF. But then they were forced to confirm it:
The tweet on the official SEC account lasted for some time, but was also soon deleted:
Last Friday, SEC lawyers from the Division of Trading and Markets already met with representatives of the largest exchanges – the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). All these platforms are going to trade Bitcoin ETF shares.
Investors continue to languish in anticipation, and some public figures make pessimistic forecasts: in principle, one should not wait for the approval of exchange-traded funds for Bitcoin.