Several active members of the cryptocurrency community have announced their plans to sue Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as the Commission itself. The basis for the lawsuit is the dissemination of false information about the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. This false information was published on the official SEC microblog on January 9, 2024, but was quickly removed.
Ran Neuner, co-founder of Onchain Capital and a well-known crypto investor, has expressed his intention to take legal action against the SEC and Gary Gensler for market manipulation. Similar intentions have been expressed by AltcoinGordon, a prominent analyst in the crypto community, who also stated his desire to pursue legal action against the SEC and Gensler. There is already discussion online about the possibility of consolidating these lawsuits into a collective lawsuit against the SEC.
The reason for initiating legal proceedings was the dissemination of false information about the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF on the Commission's microblog. Just 20 minutes after the publication, the message was deleted, and representatives of the SEC and Gensler claimed that the regulator's account had been hacked. The absence of two-factor authentication in the microblog's settings may have facilitated the hacking.
The publication of false information and subsequent denials caused significant disruptions in the market, including mass liquidations of positions. Many traders expressed their dissatisfaction, having suffered from the false information spread on the Commission's microblog. This event highlighted the risks associated with unreliable information in the cryptocurrency industry.
The SEC, which traditionally acts as a regulator, warning of market manipulation risks, has now found itself at the center of a scandal related to manipulation. As a result, many representatives of the crypto community are calling for the Commission to be held accountable for its actions. This event has raised questions about trust in official sources of information and the influence of regulators on the cryptocurrency market.
