SEC says its X account was hacked after apparent bitcoin fund approval

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, was breached Tuesday, the agency said, after it appeared to announce the approval of several bitcoin investment funds.

“The @SECGov X account was compromised, and an unauthorized post was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products,” the agency wrote in a Tuesday afternoon post on X.

The account posted a message earlier Tuesday — featuring a picture of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler — announcing the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding bitcoin.

The incorrect post was online for roughly 30 minutes before it was deleted and replaced with the SEC’s disavowal.

The SEC first responded to the hack through Gensler’s official account on X, which posted a nearly identical statement 15 minutes after the SEC’s apparent approval of bitcoin ETFs.

Both Gensler and the SEC’s official account are verified on X as government figures.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) slammed the incident as “unacceptable” and called for answers from the agency.

“Just like the SEC would demand accountability from a public company if they made such a colossal market-moving mistake, Congress needs answers on what just happened,” Hagerty said in a post on X. Hagerty is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the SEC and other financial regulators.

The SEC has been expected to announce the approval of several bitcoin ETFs by Wednesday in compliance with a federal court ruling, including a fund from Grayscale holding roughly $29 billion in bitcoin.

The price of bitcoin briefly surged on the false news, jumping to nearly $48,000, before tumbling lower than its price earlier in the day, to less than $46,000.

Cryptocurrency investors and advocates have eagerly awaited the approval of bitcoin ETFs after a brutal year of losses for industry. Supporters of the bitcoin ETFs say they would help expand crypto investment options and cement digital currencies as a pillar of the financial system.

The SEC had fought against the approval of bitcoin ETFs under Gensler, a Democrat appointed by President Biden who has expressed deep concerns about cryptocurrencies. Crypto advocates have long accused Gensler of throttling the industry through aggressive enforcement actions and unclear legal guidance.

Gensler has also sparred with X owner Elon Musk over the billionaire’s acquisition of the social media company, which was a publicly traded company at the time of the sale.

The SEC sued Musk in October to force him to testify about his purchase of the social media platform. The agency, which began investigating Musk’s initial purchase of Twitter stock and offer to acquire the company in April 2022, alleged in its lawsuit that he declined to appear for a deposition in September.

Musk, in turn, called for a “comprehensive overhaul” of the SEC and a “commission to take punitive action against those individuals who have abused their regulatory power for personal and political gain.”

At a December court hearing, a federal judge appeared inclined to side with the agency, warning that Musk would be forced to testify if he doesn’t agree to answer questions.

Updated at 5:49 p.m. ET