FILE - The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at SEC headquarters, June 19, 2015, in Washington. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, that a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing that the securities regulator had approved the trading of exchange-traded funds holding bitcoin was fake, and that the agency's account had been "compromised."Photo by Andrew Harnik/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEC chair denies a bitcoin ETF has been approved, says account on X was 'compromised'

by · National Post

NEW YORK (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that a post on the agency’s account on X announcing that the securities regulator had approved the trading of exchange-traded funds holding bitcoin was “unauthorized,” and that the agency’s account had been “compromised.”

The initial announcement brought a brief moment of joy to cryptocurrency investors, who had driven up the price of bitcoin in recent months in anticipation of the approval of a bitcoin ETF. The ETF would provide a a way to invest in bitcoin without having to buy the cryptocurrency outright on a crypto exchange such as Binance or Coinbase.