Well, it seems the normally buttoned-up Securities and Exchange Commission let down its hair for a brief moment earlier today. In an apparent case of mistaken identity—or perhaps just wishful thinking—the Commission’s official Twitter account was hacked to proclaim the approval of the long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Now, an ordinary Monday afternoon suddenly seemed like New Year’s Eve, as bitcoin enthusiasts everywhere popped their champagne to celebrate. Prices for the flagship cryptocurrency immediately spiked nearly 5% on the news, no doubt fueled by excited traders throwing their sombreros in the air without checking the details too closely. Hey, who can blame them? The SEC has played coy about bitcoin ETFs for years now, so optimism got the better of people when that blessed announcement finally arrived.
Of course, the bitter taste of reality soon seeped in as traders sobered up. Like a stern parent, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler quickly tweeted that no, Virginia, there is no bitcoin Santa Claus. The earlier announcement was a fraud, penned by some impish hacker apparently intent on stirring up a little mischief.
All’s well that ends well, we suppose. The bitcoin price settled back down, traders wiped the egg off their faces, and the SEC tech team is no doubt on the warpath hunting down the troublemaker. Still, you have to chuckle at the whole kerfuffle playing out in real-time on Twitter.