Bitcoin Surges to $30K After False Spot ETF Approval Tweet

The token climbed from $27,900 after a social media post that the SEC had approved BlackRock’s application.

Bitcoin spiked from $27,900 to $30,000 early Monday after a tweet falsely said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from BlackRock.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has now reverted to $28,103.80.

The rumor was posted on X by crypto media outlet Cointelegraph, which deleted the post within 30 minutes, apologized and said that it was starting an internal investigation.

BlackRock confirmed to multiple outlets that the asset manager’s bitcoin spot ETF has not yet received approval.

We apologize for a tweet that led to the dissemination of inaccurate information regarding the Blackrock Bitcoin ETF.

An internal investigation is currently underway. We are committed to transparency and will share the findings of the investigation with the public once it is…

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) October 16, 2023

Investors have grown more confident that the SEC could soon approve spot bitcoin ETFs. The regulator failed to meet the deadline last Friday to appeal a court ruling that said the SEC didn’t adequately justify why it denied an application from Grayscale to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to a spot ETF.

The lack of appeal narrowed the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s discount to 16% for the first time since Dec. 2021.