Fake SEC tweets cause $90M bitcoin liquidation, highlighting manipulation risks

Nearly $90 million worth of bitcoin long and short positions were liquidated due to price volatility caused by fake tweets from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) X account, highlighting the risks of manipulation in the industry. Hackers gained control of the SEC's X account and posted a false nod for the approval of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), causing bitcoin prices to spike before falling as the tweets were found to be fake. Punters and automated bots reacted quickly, opening over $500 million in futures positions in a ten-minute period, but highly-leveraged positions suffered losses as prices fluctuated. The incident has raised concerns about the SEC's security measures to protect its social accounts.