Omar
Marques
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|
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Images
The
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
said
Tuesday
afternoon
that
an
announcement
about
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
on
social
media
was
incorrect.
“The
SEC’s
@SECGov
X/Twitter
account
has
been
compromised.
The
unauthorized
tweet
regarding
bitcoin
ETFs
was
not
made
by
the
SEC
or
its
staff,”
an
SEC
spokesperson
told
CNBC.
The
false
social
media
post
said
the
SEC
had
approved
bitcoin
ETFs
for
trading.
The
price
of
bitcoin
briefly
spiked
after
the
initial
post,
but
then
quickly
slid
below
$46,000.
In
a
later
statement
Tuesday
evening,
an
SEC
spokesperson
told
CNBC
that
the
agency
determined
that
there
had
been
unauthorized
access
to
the
regulator’s
X
account
“by
an
unknown
party”
for
a
brief
period
just
after
4
p.m.
ET.
“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,”
this
spokesperson
said.
The
SEC
is
expected
to
make
a
decision
on
bitcoin
ETFs
this
week
after
opposing
them
for
years.
More
than
a
dozen
asset
managers
have
filed
applications
to
create
such
a
fund,
including
many
that
filed
updated
registration
statements
Tuesday
morning.
The
price
of
the
largest
cryptocurrency
has
been
climbing
in
recent
months,
in
part
because
of
growing
optimism
that
the
so-called
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
would
be
approved.
Funds
that
track
the
price
of
bitcoin
futures
already
trade
on
exchanges
in
the
U.S.
Crypto
advocates
contend
that
the
launch
of
the
spot
bitcoin
funds
could
bring
a
new
type
of
investor
into
digital
assets.
ETFs
are
an
instrument
that
financial
advisors
use
regularly.
The
idea
is
that
advisors
and
investors
who
have
been
spooked
by
the
intricacies
around
custody
of
bitcoin
would
be
more
willing
and
able
to
buy
crypto
in
an
ETF
wrapper.
SEC
Chair
Gary
Gensler
has
been
a
vocal
opponent
of
crypto
during
his
tenure,
and
the
commission
has
brought
legal
action
against
several
major
crypto
exchanges.
Gensler
had
used
social
media
earlier
in
the
week
to
urge
investors
to
use
caution
when
buying
products
tied
to
crypto.
Last
year,
the
SEC
lost
a
court
case
against
crypto
asset
manager
Grayscale,
which
wants
to
convert
an
over-the-counter
trust
holding
bitcoin
into
an
ETF.
The
SEC
declined
to
appeal
that
ruling,
fueling
speculation
that
the
regulator
would
soon
approve
bitcoin
ETFs.
–CNBC’s
Christina
Wilkie
contributed
reporting.
Correction:
A
previous
version
of
this
story
said
that
the
SEC
had
approved
bitcoin
ETFs
for
trading.
The
story
has
been
updated
to
reflect
that
a
false
social
media
post
was
made.
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