Market participants had been eagerly awaiting a response from the SEC, which was expected before January 10.
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.
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024
Bitcoin reacted swiftly to the false news, experiencing a sharp price fluctuation. It initially soared to $48,100 per coin, but then quickly dropped to $45,090 and even reached a low of $44,117.
One of the contributing factors to the price decrease was the prompt response from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who took to his personal Twitter account after just 15 minutes to clarify the situation:
Frustrated commentators and Bitcoin investors, feeling deceived by the false announcement, began mocking the official response.
Several major media outlets were quick to report the initial news of the SEC’s approval, only to later retract it:
The deceptive tweet from the official SEC account remained visible for a brief period before being removed:
Last Friday, SEC lawyers from the Division of Trading and Markets met with representatives of leading exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). These exchanges intend to trade Bitcoin ETF shares.
Investors continue to await a definitive decision, although some public figures have expressed pessimistic forecasts, suggesting that approval for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds may not be forthcoming.