Ordinalized Again: Gensler's Bitcoin ETF Retreat Immortalized As Inscription

For the second time this week, a message by U.S. Security and Exchange chair Gary Gensler was minted on the Bitcoin blockchain using Ordinals Inscriptions.

After Gensler posted a letter on the agency’s website announcing the approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs, its title—“Statement on the Approval of Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products”—was minted as Inscription 54,114,539 and included Gensler’s photo and date of the letter.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment vehicle that allows traders to buy shares backed by Bitcoin without directly holding the asset. With the spot Bitcoin ETF finally and actually approved, the investment products can now be traded on stock exchanges.

The inscription marks a major milestone on the long road to Bitcoin ETF approval and comes a day after another inscription was created that immortalized Gensler, admitting the SEC’s website had been compromised and a fake approval tweet sent out.

On Tuesday, the official SEC Twitter account announced that all thirteen spot Bitcoin ETFs had been approved when none had been approved. The subsequent revelation that the tweet was fake sent the price of Bitcoin plunging from $47,680 to just above $45,500.

In a statement, the SEC told Decrypt a hacker gained access to the SEC’s Twitter account, emphasizing that a member of the agency did not create the tweet. The SEC spokesperson said the agency is now working with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to track the culprits.

In an ironic twist, the SEC’s fake tweet comes after another warning to investors by Gensler about scams in the cryptocurrency.

“Honestly... that quote was so perfectly genslish and the wording of that tweet is exactly how you'd expect it to be worded from the SEC,” Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said. “That was either a tweet sitting in drafts, or someone is good at mimicking SEC language.”

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are expected to begin trading on Thursday, VanEck CEO Jan van Eck said on Tuesday.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.