An Alabama man pleaded guilty to participating in the hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account that involved sending a fake social media post announcing the authorization of the first-ever spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Eric Council Jr., 25, admitted to conspiring to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in Washington federal court on Monday. Judge Amy Berman Jackson set a sentencing date for May 16.
Prosecutors accused Council of using a fake ID and tricking a local phone store employee into helping him access the victim’s phone. They said that he was guided by co-conspirators who originally identified the victim and were able to break through security measures on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The account hack occurred a day before analysts expected the SEC to announce the approval of the spot market Bitcoin ETFs. The hacker’s fake post on Jan. 9, 2024, caused the price of Bitcoin to surge.
The value of the cryptocurrency fell after the SEC “confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized,” according to the indictment. The agency announced its approval of the ETFs the following day.
Approval of the ETFs was eagerly anticipated by the market and it came after a lengthy legal battle between the SEC and an issuer of one of the products.
The case is US v. Council, 24-cr-457, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
(Credit: Diego/Radzinschi/ALM)
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