Gensler Affirms False Nature of Spot Bitcoin ETF Declaration

Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently disclosed that the official X (previously Twitter) account of the regulatory agency encountered a breach, disseminating inaccurate information about the endorsement of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

A Crucial Week

The SEC government X account indeed faced a security breach, and an unauthorized tweet was published, Gensler stated. Nevertheless, the post erroneously proclaimed to a substantial audience that the regulatory body had sanctioned the spot Bitcoin ETF. This week is anticipated to bring a pivotal decision.

Although Gensler emphasized that the SEC has not greenlit the inclusion and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products, an outright refusal has not been made either. Due to this, the crypto community as well as a wide array of institutional investors remain hopeful that a Bitcoin ETF will be approved soon, despite the various delays.

Minimal Impact

The deadline for the SEC to announce the verdict on the ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin ETF application is January 10th, 2024. Notwithstanding the optimistic initial announcement and subsequent correction, the impact on crypto prices across the board was in fact minimal.

While there was a marginal decline, the market has since steadied. This triggered speculation in the cryptocurrency community, prompting swift reactions on social media. As of the time of writing, BTC is trading at just below $46,000.

Interestingly, not everyone is convinced this was a breach. Eric Balchunas claims that although there is some evidence which could suggest a possible hack, he believes it may have originated within the SEC itself, possibly a scheduled tweet.