- SEC chair Gary Gensler’s response to the compromised SEC X post regarding a Bitcoin ETF now exists as an NFT on Ordnals
- The SEC’s X account was purportedly hacked with the hacker confirming that the agency had approved approved a Bitcoin ETF
- Gary Gensler has since confirmed that the account was hacked, with U.S. politicians demanding a deeper explanation
The web3 community was quick to preserve a tweet from US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler responding to the compromised SEC Bitcoin ETF tweet as an NFT on the Bitcoin blockchain. The United States securities watchdog has since disclosed that its X account was hacked, with the malicious actor sending a post that the commission had approved a Bitcoin ETF. U.S. politicians have demanded a concrete explanation of how it happened, a sign that they aren’t comfortable with the current hack narrative.
Immortalizing Gensler’s Response
Among the first to inscribe the tweet on Bitcoin is Billy Restey, who said that the move is meant to ensure that the crypto community doesn’t “forget” about it. The inscription features Gensler’s response to the “unauthorized tweet.”
just so we don’t forget..
this tweet has been immortalized on Bitcoin forever..
→ https://t.co/ipV76F9gCO pic.twitter.com/RcypVCkKQO
— billy (@billyrestey) January 9, 2024
In the tweet, Gensler clarifies that the SEC is yet to greenlight the trading of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. While most applauded Restey for immortalizing the tweet, some have questioned what will happen if the SEC asks the digital artist to delete the inscription.
There have been several speculations that the compromised tweet may be from an intern at the SEC, something that the commission has denied saying it was none of its staff.
SIM Swap Attack Fuel’s SEC Hack
The X team has disclosed that SEC’s account didn’t have the 2-factor authentication (2FA) enabled paving the way for a SIM swap attack. X clarified that the SEC account’s hack wasn’t due to a breach of X’s systems.
We can confirm that the account @SECGov 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…
— Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2024
With the hack coinciding with the expected approval date of a spot Bitcoin ETF, it’s to be seen whether the incident will affect the commission’s ETF decision.
