FILE - An advertisement for Bitcoin cryptocurrency is displayed on a street in Hong Kong, on Feb. 17, 2022. Bitcoin slumped to a two-year low, Wednesday, Nov. 9, and other digital assets sold off following the sudden collapse of crypto exchange FTX Trading, which has been forced to sell itself to larger rival Binance. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter
{beacon}
Business & Economy
Business & Economy
The Big Story
SEC account hacked after apparent bitcoin fund approval
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) account on the platform formerly known as Twitter was breached Tuesday, the agency said, after it appeared to announce the approval of several bitcoin investment funds.
“The @SECGov X account was compromised, and an unauthorized post was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products,” the agency said in a Tuesday afteroon post on X.
The SEC’s account on X posted a message earlier Tuesday — featuring a picture of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler — announcing the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding bitcoin.
The incorrect post was online for roughly 30 minutes before it was deleted and replaced with the SEC’s disavowal.
The SEC first responded to the hack through Gensler’s official account on X, which posted a nearly identical statement 15 minutes after the SEC’s apparent approval of bitcoin ETFs.
Both Gensler and the SEC’s official account are verified on X as government figures.
The SEC has been expected to announce the approval of several bitcoin ETFs by Wednesday in compliance with a federal court ruling, including a fund from Greyscale holding roughly $29 billion in bitcoin.
The price of bitcoin briefly surged on the false news, jumping to nearly $48,000, before tumbling lower than its price earlier in the day, to less than $46,000.
The Hill’s Sylvan Lane and Julia Shapero have the story here.
Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, I’m Aris Folley — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
American Airlines is the latest major carrier to make changes to its frequent flyer program in recent months, announcing Tuesday that many perks previously available to anyone will be exclusive to its frequent flyer members.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) acknowledged Tuesday that Congress will “obviously” have to pass another short-term funding measure to avoid a partial government shutdown later this month, even though Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said last year he was “done” with short-term continuing resolutions (CR).
Former President Trump’s legal team suggested Tuesday that even a president directing SEAL Team Six to kill a political opponent would be an action barred from prosecution given a former executive’s broad immunity to criminal prosecution. Read more
A federal judge in Nevada dismissed a ballot eligibility challenge against former President Trump on Tuesday, ruling the challenger does not have proper standing. Read more
What People Think
Opinions related to business and economic issues submitted to The Hill:
