The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarified that it has not approved bitcoin ETF applications, countering misinformation briefly posted on its compromised X (formerly Twitter) account.
According to a spokesperson’s statement to CoinDesk, the SEC’s @SECGov X/Twitter account experienced unauthorised access, leading to a false tweet about bitcoin ETF approvals. The SEC confirmed that the tweet was not issued by the SEC or its staff. The unauthorised access has been terminated, and the SEC pledged to collaborate with law enforcement to investigate the incident.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler, in a statement from his official X account, affirmed that spot bitcoin exchange-traded products have not received approval. “The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products,” he said.
The regulator is widely anticipated to announce its decision on spot bitcoin ETF applications soon. Last week, an SEC spokesperson informed CoinDesk that any approval would be reflected in the agency’s EDGAR database, and X was not specified as an official communication channel.
“Any Commission 19b-4 orders will be posted on our website and then published in the Federal Register,” the spokesperson said.
The compromised @SECgov X account had erroneously tweeted about granting approval for #Bitcoin ETFs:“Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges. The approved Bitcoin ETFs will be subject to ongoing surveillance and compliance measures to ensure continued investor protection.” The tweet had caused a momentary surge in BTC to nearly $48,000 before plummeting 6% to $45,100. The misleading information led to significant losses, with over $50 million in leveraged derivatives trading positions wiped out within an hour, as per CoinGlass data.