SEC Chairman Gensler: “We take security issues seriously'' after the X takeover incident

9 months ago 68

Responding to the X hijacking incident

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler sent a letter to House Republicans last week.

In response to the posting of false important information that could affect the market on the official X account, the company said, “We are taking seriously concerns about cybersecurity measures.''

The background is that on the 10th Japan time, the SEC's account was hijacked and false information was posted that a Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF had been approved, even though this was not the case yet.

Last month, four Republicans, including Rep. Patrick McHenry, asked Gensler for clarification on the matter. This letter serves as a response to the lawmakers.

connection: U.S. House of Representatives demands explanation from SEC over fake Bitcoin spot ETF post

The SEC appears to have subsequently briefed lawmakers. In his letter, Gensler told lawmakers:

We are aware that the SEC's Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs held a briefing for your staff on January 17 to address questions regarding the X Posting incident. SEC staff will also address any additional questions you may have.

Gensler further added that law enforcement is currently investigating how the suspect changed the SIM on the SEC account through the carrier and how he learned the phone number that was associated with the account. He also explained that it was inside.

It also goes on to say that at this time, there is no evidence that the perpetrators compromised the SEC's own systems, data, devices, or social media accounts other than X.

What is Bitcoin ETF?

An Exchange Traded Fund that includes Bitcoin as an investment. An investment trust is a financial product that collects money from investors into a single fund and invests it in stocks, bonds, etc. The system is such that the investment results are distributed according to each investor's investment amount. Among investment trusts, ETFs are listed on stock exchanges, so they can be bought and sold like stocks.

Virtual currency glossary

connection:
Learn about Bitcoin ETFs from the beginning: Explaining the advantages and disadvantages of investing and how to buy US stocks

Bitcoin ETF special feature

Hijacking via SIM swap attack

Regarding the SEC's takeover of the X account, it has already been revealed that a SIM swap technique was used and that the SEC did not enable “multi-factor authentication.”

According to an SEC spokesperson, it was discovered that the X account's multi-factor authentication had been removed last summer due to problems accessing the account, and had been disabled since then after the fake posting.

connection:
U.S. SEC details account hijacking over fake posts from Bitcoin spot ETF

Purchased BTC worth 1.5 trillion yen in about 1 month

According to a report from HODL15Capital, the Bitcoin spot ETF of nine companies including BlackRock has purchased a total of 216,309 BTC (equivalent to a market value of 1.6 trillion yen) by the 9th, about a month after the ETF was launched.

Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, predicts the price of Bitcoin based on its realized market capitalization (Realized Cap). He predicted that the ETF could rise to $112,000 (approximately 16.7 million yen) by 2024 due to inflows. On the other hand, he also said that in the worst-case scenario, the increase would be limited to $55,000 (approximately 8.22 million yen).

connection:
Bitcoin spot ETF excluding GBTC, total BTC holdings exceeds MicroStrategy