Whoever compromised the SEC’s account also began liking posts from crypto-focused accounts that expressed excitement about the SEC’s false approval of Bitcoin ETFs. Even though the SEC’s fake post was only live for a matter of minutes, it still managed to trigger a steep spike in the price of Bitcoin that brought it from around $46,746 to $47,863. That price has since sunk to $45,633 at this time of writing, according to data from CoinDesk, though it’s since risen to $46,173.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Screenshot by Emma Roth / The Verge
Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are bundles of assets that work sort of like mutual funds, with shares of the ETFs trading on exchanges as stocks do. A Bitcoin ETF would make it easier for investors to speculate on the price of Bitcoin without having to hold Bitcoin directly. That also lets them avoid setting up their own cryptocurrency wallets and so on. The SEC has previously rejected all attempts at a Bitcoin ETF.
Update January 9th, 7:15PM ET: Added new information from the SEC and an updated Bitcoin price.
Update January 9th, 11:37PM ET: Added details posted by @Safety.