Home
News
- 1 Bitcoin prices reached a level of $30,000 on October 16, 2023.
- 2 This surge in price was due to a false post on X which was deleted within 30 minutes of posting.
Bitcoin price nearly attained a level of $30,000 on October 16, 2023, and one must be living under a rock to be oblivious. In a short-lived rally, BTC price saw a pump resulting in adding up to $2,000 in value before dropping back. The cryptocurrency price saw an up-move in the wake of a rumor surfacing fake news of BlackRock’s ETF being approved by the SEC.
The post from a crypto news outlet on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) noted that BlackRock’s iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF got approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Though the false post got deleted from X in about 30 minutes, the impact of the news spread all over the space.
People started talking about it and re-sharing the instance from their accounts. However, as the scale of news increased, some started raising doubts even if the report was stating right about the spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF approval.
The internal investigation of the crypto news platform started simultaneously as it spread like wildfire. Until prominent individuals, and some trusted sources, including the news outlet itself, came forward with the actual information and confirmed with the entities like BlackRock and Bloomberg, a momentarily rampant chaos took place.
With the confirmation of wrong news posted through the social media handle, the news outlet deleted the post. And later showed up with another post on X apologizing with clarification on the mistake that was made.
Reports appeared claiming that Bitcoin price hit nearly $30,000 after rising about 7% within no time. About $100 Million of shorts got liquidated until the actual news reached the wider community.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $28,471 after raising over 3% in the last seven days.
Employee’s Mistake Resulted in Chaos
After the internal investigation was over, the news firm came up with a detailed explanation and cited that it was due to an employee’s mistake. The company has a standard procedure before going ahead with any news. It said that the social media team, responsible for posting the social media posts, posted the BTC spot ETF approval without confirmation from the official source and approval of the editorial team.
It shared the whole process as the team got an unconfirmed lead in the form of a screenshot starting Bloomberg Terminal reporting the spot Bitcoin ETF approved. The hastiness of breaking the news in the market first of all unintentionally compromised the basic checks and rules such as confirming the source and accuracy, etc.
Ultimately, the news was out there on social media, and the team got intimation shortly that the news was fake and it needed to be drawn back. It was eventually taken back with an apology but the instance left so many lessons for others to take.
The cryptocurrency market is a space of burgeoning assets that are still in its infancy and growing with each passing day. It has yet to attain a concrete position in the international market. Certainly, the traditional markets are also sensitive to even the slight developments happening around the world.
The crypto market and community have more responsibilities and hence need to be extra cautious while dealing with the news around. The volatility in the assets is nothing new and it seems to be moving ahead towards stability.
Bitcoin Spot ETFs Will Need to Wait More
Bitcoin spot ETFs are much-awaited offerings and the anticipation for the product can be imagined after the recent instance. As one false news significantly boosted the price within no time, it’s enough to understand the desperation of having one.
The broader crypto community has been seeking a spot Bitcoin ETF for quite a long time, though several future Bitcoin ETFs already exist. Still, the Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to approve one, and the reason is one of the mysteries one might be after.
Or it might remain like a gnome for all since something has to be there but still known to anyone while SEC refrained from disclosing it except for “it lacks proper safety measures.”
Prominent traditional finance players including BlackRock, Infidelity, VanEck, Invesco, WisdomTree, and several others, filed with the SEC for spot Bitcoin ETFs in around June this year. BlackRock’s growing interest in Bitcoin and launching its own spot ETF around the crypto asset brought optimism to the community seeking it.
However, despite these heavy-weights entering the arena, the SEC seems undistracted. The recent instances of delaying applications could be taken for example.
On top of that, the U.S. financial watchdog took a hit as it lost the legal battle against Bitcoin fund manager Grayscale over the issue of converting Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Co. into a full-fledged spot Bitcoin ETF. The regulator rejected the application and Grayscale took the issue to court.
About a month ago, the United States court brought a decision in favor of Grayscale and asked the SEC to clarify the reason for not approving the spot BTC ETFs. Moreover, the regulator also reportedly is not considering an appeal against the company seeking an ETF, strengthening the possibility of a spot BTC ETF approval down the road.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
