By Susie Violet Ward · Forbes · 10 January 2024
In January 2024, bitcoin’s price spiked and then quickly fell back after a post on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s account on X announced that a spot bitcoin ETF had been approved. Gary Gensler, then Chair of the SEC, said the account had been compromised, and the announcement was confirmed to be false.
The article uses the episode to look at how quickly unverified news can move markets and at the security of official communication channels, noting that Gensler had posted about cybersecurity in October 2023. It argues that incidents like this could erode investor confidence as more institutional and retail investors enter the market, and urges investors to rely on credible sources and carry out their own due diligence, in keeping with the bitcoin principle “Don’t Trust, Verify.”