Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Bitcoin’s price jumped above the $48k level late on Tuesday following fake news about spot Bitcoin ETF approval.
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The SEC’s X account was hacked, with the attacker posting that 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved.
SEC’s X Account Hacked, Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Message Posted
Bitcoin’s price endured a wild swing late on Tuesday following the hack of the US SEC’s X account. The US Securities and Exchange Commission posted on X that several spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) were approved.
The message resulted in Bitcoin pumping above the $48k level, its highest trading price in more than two years. However, the pump was shortlived as the regulatory agency revealed that its X account was hacked and it is yet to approve a single spot Bitcoin ETF.
JUST IN: X confirms the SEC's account was hacked and did not have two-factor authentication enabled. pic.twitter.com/7KABoGMgrm
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) January 10, 2024
Bitcoin’s price sharply declined by 6% to trade at $45,100 on Tuesday following the SEC’s denial of an ETF approval, with some market participants claiming that the event can be described as market manipulation.
According to data obtained from CoinGlass, the massive price action liquidated over $50 million worth of derivatives trading positions on crypto exchanges within an hour.
Bitcoin is currently trading just above $46k, down by roughly 2% in the last 24 hours.
Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Might Not Lead to a Massive Price Pump
According to some analysts, Bitcoin only rallied by 2% following the fake ETF approval message, indicating that the actual approval might not result in a massive price pump as many had expected.
Alex Krüger, co-founder of Asgard Markets, said,
"Fake ETF news showed BTC upside is clearly capped until we see actual ETF inflows. Time for ETH to take over."
With Bitcoin and altcoins all underperforming, the total cryptocurrency market cap currently stands at $1.71 trillion, down by 1% in the last 24 hours.
