The SEC’s X account was apparently ‘compromised’ to falsely claim bitcoin ETFs were approved

The official X account belonging to the Securities and Exchange Commission was briefly “compromised,” the regulator said, after an apparently rogue post on X temporarily juiced bitcoin prices.

On Tuesday, the SEC’s official X account tweeted that bitcoin ETFs had been approved “for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” The tweet included an official-looking graphic featuring a quote from SEC Chair Gary Gensler. However, Gensler himself quickly clarified from his X account that the post from @SECGov was the result of a "compromised” account.

“The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted,” Gensler wrote. “The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.”

The confusion comes as the SEC is, in fact, considering whether to approve spot bitcoin ETFs, investment funds that hold the cryptocurrency. The regulator is expected to make a decision Wednesday in a process that has been closely watched by crypto investors.

Naturally, the now-deleted tweet from the SEC’s official (and gray check-verified) account on X prompted a momentary surge in bitcoin prices, followed by a steep decline. The post and subsequent clarification from Gensler “wiped out over $50 million of leveraged derivatives trading positions within an hour,” according to and analysis from CoinDesk.

For now, it’s unclear exactly how the SEC’s X account was “compromised.” In a statement, an SEC spokesperson told Engadget that it was investigating the matter. "The SEC has determined that there was unauthorized access to and activity on the @SECGov x.com account by an unknown party for a brief period of time shortly after 4 pm ET," the spokesperson said. "That unauthorized access has been terminated. 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."

The regulator has so far given no indication about whether it intends to approve any spot bitcoin ETFs this week. X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Update January 9 2023, 6:50PM ET: This story has been updated with a statement from an SEC spokesperson about their investigation.