The cryptocurrency market recently faced turmoil following a misleading announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs. This inaccurate information led to significant market fluctuations and substantial financial consequences for traders.
Data from Coinglass revealed that over $218 million in cryptocurrency trades were liquidated in 24 hours, with Bitcoin trades accounting for $56 million of these liquidations in just one hour. This event affected more than 72,000 traders, including a notable liquidation of a $6 million BTC/USD trade on the ByBit platform.
The confusion started when the SEC’s official X page announced that Bitcoin ETFs had been approved for listing on all national securities exchanges in the U.S. However, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler later clarified that this information was false, stating the SEC’s account had been compromised and no ETFs were approved.
Bitcoin’s price experienced a sharp spike to $47,800 following the initial announcement, only to fall to $45,400 as the market reacted to the unfolding situation.
This incident has led to calls for an investigation into the SEC for potential market manipulation, as suggested by Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino, based on feedback from lawyers. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas speculated that the tweet might have been genuine but prematurely released, a day before the SEC planned to announce ETF approvals.
Despite the confusion and market impact, Balchunas remains optimistic, maintaining that ETFs are likely to be operational by Thursday. The crypto market is now closely monitoring the situation for any further developments or official confirmations from the SEC.