The cryptocurrency community is buzzing with speculations as to what really transpired within the ranks of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following its premature spot Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) announcement on X (formerly Twitter). Despite the basic reasoning of the agency that it was nothing but a result of a hack in its social media account and X’s preliminary investigation pinning the activity to an “unidentified individual” who just happened to get an access of a phone number linked to the regulator’s account, a lot of people are not buying it.
Something is Definitely Off
People are now airing their displeasure at the costly mistake of the SEC and politicians are demanding accountability. Although the regulator pointed the blame to a hacker, the investigation by X Safety just exposed how their incompetence actually contributed to the whole affair. For a government body that is tasked with safeguarding the interest of the investing public, they couldn’t even be bothered to enable the two-factor authentication of their social media account. This only made it easier for the perpetrator to waltz into their X channel and cause chaos in the market.
For a catastrophic event occurring hours before the anticipated verdict of the SEC on at least one of the spot Bitcoin ETF filings, this simplistic scenario of a hacking incident is too hard to believe. Mere incompetence is such a convenient excuse for them. At face value, something is definitely wrong here.
No one with that kind of conviction makes a game-changing action that’s capable of pumping or sinking the market just for the fun of it, and knowing the trouble they would run into later on. There has to be a driving factor for it. And in this case, let’s not look further than the element of money.
The so-called hacking incident was just so timely, too. Of all dates, it has to be moments before the expected ruling of the SEC on a spot Bitcoin ETF. This is certainly a well-planned move and something that surely made a lot of cash for the people involved.
The SEC May Have Had a Planned Announcement All Along
Adam Cochran, the founder of Cinneamhain Ventures (CEHV), also presents an interesting take on the events that transpired. He thinks the SEC account was both hacked but the post was real.
Cochran said it’s possible that the hacker simply found the announcement lying in the draft folders of the account and proceeded to jump the gun with it. He noted that the intricate graphic included in the tweet couldn’t have been created on a whim, too. For him, the approval announcement was already lined up, but it just went off earlier than intended.
The Silver Lining of the SEC Hacking Incident
These past few hours have been tense but if there’s something good that may have come out of it is that now we have a basis for the immediate price movements of Bitcoin should one or more of its related spot ETFs are given the nod by the SEC. The sudden p also gives us a confirmation of the digital asset’s strong base at the $45K level should things fail to go as expected today.