U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler addressed concerns raised by four House members regarding an "unauthorized" tweet from the official SEC X account on January 9. In a letter dated February 6 to Representatives Patrick McHenry, French Hill, Bill Huizenga, and Ann Wagner, Gensler confirmed reports that a hacker gained access to the SEC's X account through a "SIM swap" attack. The hacker falsely claimed that the SEC had approved spot Bitcoin Exchange-traded funds listed and traded on U.S. exchanges. Gensler revealed that the hackers managed to publish two posts and like two tweets before the commission halted the unauthorized activity.
Gensler stated that, based on the available information, the SEC's staff believes the unauthorized access to the X account was terminated before 5:30 p.m. He highlighted ongoing investigations by law enforcement agencies to determine how the unauthorized party executed the SIM card change and how they identified the phone number associated with the account. The SEC chairman emphasized the seriousness with which the SEC regards its cybersecurity obligations and noted that the agency is collaborating with the Office of the Inspector General, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Justice Department officials in the investigation. Gensler also extended an invitation to lawmakers to pose further questions if necessary.
The fabricated tweet, sent from the official SEC X account, caused significant confusion before being swiftly addressed by the commission. Interestingly, the following day, on January 10, the SEC officially approved 11 Bitcoin spot exchange-traded products for listing and trading on U.S. exchanges.
The security team of X had reportedly notified the SEC on January 9 that two-factor authentication had not been enabled for the account, leading to the security breach. This detail was corroborated by the committee in a statement issued on January 22.
Following the approval of spot BTC ETFs by the SEC, anticipation is high regarding the commission's decision on spot Ethereum Exchange-traded products. Asset manager VanEck may be among the first entities awaiting a decision, given the SEC's May 2024 deadline.
