The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) official X account, previously known as Twitter, has been compromised by a cyberattack.
Discovered late last night, the breach involved the distribution of a false announcement regarding the SEC’s approval of spot bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), leading to significant misinformation spreading rapidly.
SEC X Account Hacked: Misleading Tweet Triggers Bitcoin Price
The hacked SEC X account posted a tweet claiming, “Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” The tweet on the SEC X account hacked included a graphic with a purported quote from SEC Chair Gary Gensler, along with a second tweet simply saying “$BTC.”
Despite being promptly deleted, the unauthorized post briefly led to a spike in bitcoin prices, only to quickly drop below US$46,000.
To address the situation, SEC Chair Gary Gensler clarified via Twitter, stating, “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.”
A subsequent tweet on the SEC’s X platform reiterated the compromise and emphasized the lack of approval for spot bitcoin ETFs.
