Multiple news outlets published an inaccurate story after the official X (formerly Twitter) account from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission posted a tweet claiming that the regulator had approved spot Bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange-traded funds for the first time.

In a Jan. 9 X post, SEC Chair Gary Gensler  said the commission had “not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products,” despite a tweet from the official SEC X account. Various news outlets — including Cointelegraph, Blockworks and Reuters — had initially reported on the story from the SEC before Gensler’s statement.

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

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.

— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) January 9, 2024

The Jan. 9 X post from the official SEC account claimed that the commission had granted approval for Bitcoin ETFs to be listed on U.S. exchanges, showing a photo and faked quote from the SEC chair. The offending tweet was up for several minutes before being removed.

At the time of publication, it’s unclear who was responsible for compromising the SEC account and issuing the tweet. Many had expected the commission to release a decision on a spot Bitcoin ETF sometime in the next two days after several asset managers completed some of the final filings for their applications.

Gary Gensler reports SEC X account hacked — No spot Bitcoin ETF approval yet image 0 The fake spot Bitcoin ETF approval post on X, which has since been deleted. Source: X

Though the social media post was false, the SEC may still approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. Neither Gensler’s nor the SEC’s tweet stated that the commission had plans to approve or deny the investment vehicle. A decision is expected on spot BTC ETF from ARK Invest and 21Shares by Jan. 10, which some experts believe could lead to simultaneous approvals for other asset managers.

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Before Gensler’s statement claiming the SEC X account was compromised, crypto users and the market reacted accordingly. The price of BTC surged roughly 2.5% from $46,729 to $47,901 before dropping roughly 7% to $44,701. At the time of publication, the BTC price was under $46,000, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

Some on social media suggested the information contained in the retracted SEC tweet was accurate, but released prematurely. The commission’s X account showed it “liked” two replies to the false tweet from random users — unusual activity from the SEC.

Gary is gonna want someone's head to roll for this. (Honestly i would too if i were him). Just better hope it isn't taken out on these potential ETF issuers.

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 9, 2024

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This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.