In what was certainly a surprise to the industry, Bitcoin (BTC) has seen its market cap lose $50 billion after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) false Spot Bitcoin ETF claims. Indeed, the government agency saw its X account hacked a day ago. Subsequently, they posted a message signifying approval of the investment product.
The claim was proven to be false after it was revealed that the agency lost control of the account. Additionally, there is speculation that the digital asset market had seen prices decrease by more than $200 million throughout the day. Conversely, a real Spot Bitcoin ETF approval announcement is still expected to arrive at some point today.
Also Read: US Senator Calls SEC Hack Unacceptable, Congress Wants Answers
Bitcoin Down Big After False SEC Claim
Over the past few months, the digital asset market has anxiously awaited a decision on more than a dozen Spot Bitcoin ETF applications. Facing a January 10th deadline, the SEC is expected to issue an approval. However, that expectation led to a false reveal that has negatively impacted the market.
Indeed, Bitcoin (BTC) saw its market cap lose $50 million after the false SEC Spot ETF claims. Specifically, CryptoSlate reported that the digital asset fell from $938 billion to lows of $890 billion. The asset has rebounded to nearly $900 billion since the false claims were made public.
Also Read: Spot Bitcoin ETF Could Push BTC Price to $200k: Standard Chartered
Additionally, the price of Bitcoin had rapidly surged to $48,000 after the announcement. However, when it was revealed to be false, the asset plummeted to the $45,000 level. Throughout 24 hours, the entire digital asset market is down more than 1% across the board.
Moreover, Coinglass data shows that nearly $220 million was liquidated from the crypto market following the event. Moreover, traders who were betting on increases had suffered most of the losses, with over $134 liquidated. However, bearish traders lost only $83.1 million.
The development is not expected to hinder approvals. Industry-wide experts have predicted Wednesday as the day for approvals to be granted to more than 11 issuers. Subsequently, trading is expected to begin as early as Thursday morning.