It's been the craziest week crypto has had in a long time. And that's saying a lot.
After months of glimmers of hope, the crypto community entered this week expecting to finally—after years of waiting—deliver its first approval. Place Bitcoin ETFs In the history of Wall Street.
Nerves were at an all-time high, potential. Trillions of dollars Cost of asset exposure to Bitcoin online. Then, a full day before analysts expected the ruling to come, a post on the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Twitter account announced that every pending Bitcoin ETF application on its desk had been approved.
Crypto Twitter exploded with excitement. BTC started to attract. Then, less than ten minutes later, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler tweeted that the agency's account had been hacked.
The @SECGov Twitter account was hacked, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and marketing of spot bitcoin trading products.
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024
After several minutes of evasive confusion, the truth became clear: the ETF's approval tweet — as official as it appeared — was a total hoax.
Happiness turned to sadness in an instant; When the currency launched, BTC's profits immediately crashed. Jump. Crypto users were stunned: not only by the aftermath of the afternoon's events, but by the apparent hypocrisy of the SEC, which routinely advises companies under its purview to adopt stricter cybersecurity measures, but fails to institute those measures itself.
@SECGov We can confirm that the account was hacked and we have completed an initial investigation. According to our investigation, the compromise was not caused by a breach of X's systems, but by an unidentified individual gaining control of the phone number…
— Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2024
Twitter users wavered between mocking the incident and worrying that it could somehow negatively impact Bitcoin ETF applications before the SEC.
Just 24 hours after breaking news broke, detractors on Crypto Twitter started hearing rumors that Bitcoin ETF's location had been approved – and this time the actual confirmation was listed on the SEC website.
But when the SEC website went down minutes later, confusion reigned again, scaring many.
Alas, however, relief came a few minutes after the news was confirmed: b Historical actionThe SEC has actually approved ten Bitcoin ETFs, permanently changing the relationship of cryptocurrency with traditional finance and the American economy.
The celebration continued into Thursday, when the rival ETFs opened with surprisingly high volumes.
But after the dramatic, dizzying ups and downs, the dust settled over the weekend. Bitcoin ETFs have been well-deserved, and many dignitaries find themselves scratching their heads as to what—after months of breathless maintenance—they should think about next.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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