SEC Twitter Hack Causes Chaos and Memes

<p>The mighty SEC had its Twitter (X) account hacked and the culprits
threw up a Tweet stating that they’d approved the much anticipated spot bitcoin
exchange-traded fund (ETF).</p><p>A Tale of Tweets</p><p>The SEC's account gets hacked, the news comes out, the denial flies out the door,
but it’s too late, too many outlets had reported it, and chaos ensues. It's all looking pretty bad for <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/securities-and-exchange-commission/" target="_blank" rel="follow">America's financial overlords</a>.</p><p>Here’s the Tweet that started it all:</p><p>This was followed by a denial from the SEC’s Gary Gensler:</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/SECGov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SECGov</a> twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.</p>— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) <a href="https://twitter.com/GaryGensler/status/1744833049064288387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote><p>The Damage is Done</p><p>However, the damage was done. Bitcoin spiked as high as <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-etfs-sec-approval-twitter-hack-gary-gensler-crypto-2024-1">$47,897</a>
following the SEC's X post and then fell to as low as $44,903.</p><p>Now the cat’s really among the pigeons, with $90 million in
liquidations, and some within the community calling foul for <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-sec-has-not-approved-bitcoin-etfs-social-media-account-compromised-2024-01-09/">market
manipulation</a>.</p><p>Not Twitter's Fault</p><p>X (Twitter) have come out and said that there was <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/secs-compromised-account-was-not-due-to-breach-of-xs-systems-company-says.html">no
breach of their systems</a> and rumors are flying that the SEC didn’t have
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/fake-bitcoin-etf-approval-secs-x-account-lacked-2fa-lawmakers-seek-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="follow">two-factor authentication turned on</a>.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We can confirm that the account <a href="https://twitter.com/SECGov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SECGov</a> was compromised and we have completed a preliminary investigation. Based on our investigation, the compromise was not due to any breach of X’s systems, but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number…</p>— Safety (@Safety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Safety/status/1744924042681897343?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2024</a></blockquote><p>The SEC, the financial overlords of seemingly everything. Hacked. And
it’s (quite possibly) because they hadn’t secured their account, and some
outlets think an intern did it. It’d be deliciously sweet if it weren’t so
serious.</p><p>But just pause and read this:</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Careful what you read on the internet. The best source of information about the SEC is the SEC.</p>— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/SECGov/status/1714020932509982771?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2023</a></blockquote><p>Whatever the case, we don’t know why the Tweet was sent and we don’t
know who sent it. What is clear is that it’s incredibly embarrassing for the
SEC.</p><p> Meme Material</p><p>In any case, here are some of the finest memes cooked up by Internet
wits:</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The SEC rn <a href="https://t.co/MzH07AiNXq">pic.twitter.com/MzH07AiNXq</a></p>— tweet davidson