US SEC, FBI join probe into watchdog's fake X social media post

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday said it is coordinating with law enforcement entities including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on an investigation into a fake post on its X social media account on Tuesday.

"The SEC continues to investigate the matter and is coordinating with appropriate law enforcement entities, including the SEC's Office of the Inspector General and the FBI," an agency spokesperson said in a statement.

An unknown party posted on the SEC's X account on Tuesday that the agency had approved trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), roiling the bitcoin market.

The SEC quickly disavowed and deleted the post. X later confirmed that the account was compromised and said it was because of an "unidentified individual" obtaining control of a phone number.

"The unauthorized content on the @SECGov account was not drafted or created by the SEC," the agency spokesperson said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Porter)