US Senator Reacts to SEC's Market-Moving Social Media Account Compromise

According to Blockworks, the recent compromise of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) social media account, which led to a market-moving false announcement, has caught the attention of US lawmakers. Senator Bill Hagerty, R-TN, stated that the SEC needs to be held accountable for making "such a market-moving mistake". The incident occurred when the SEC's official account posted that bitcoin ETFs had been approved, which later proved to be false due to the account being compromised, according to an SEC spokesperson. This event took place a day before the House Financial Services Committee's digital asset subcommittee was scheduled to meet to discuss the ever-changing status of digital asset regulation in the US. The false post sent markets soaring before prices fell after the SEC clarification, leaving some wondering whether the SEC will proceed with approving bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday. Issuers such as VanEck and Valkyrie had expected an approval and made public statements earlier on Tuesday. The SEC has to make a decision on a spot bitcoin ETF proposal from Ark 21Shares by Wednesday. Many believed that the back and forth between issuers and the SEC, along with the unusual yet quick turnaround times on registration statement documents, indicated that the commission was ready to approve the bitcoin ETFs. However, such products have previously been denied by the agency. Senator Hagerty's response follows a series of meme posts from users poking fun at the event, with some even uncovering past posts from the SEC and Gensler themselves.