Share this article
FBI Arrests Alleged SEC Hacker Linked to Fake Tweet Saying Bitcoin ETFs Were Approved
Eric Council Jr. allegedly hijacked the SEC's X account and then handed control to unnamed co-conspirators, whose fake post drove up bitcoin's price.
Updated Oct 17, 2024, 4:23 p.m. Published Oct 17, 2024, 4:21 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday said it arrested a 25-year-old man for his role in the alleged hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission's X account to falsely post the agency had approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Eric Council Jr., of Athens, Alabama, conspired with others to take over the X account, according to a Thursday press release from the U.S. government. After gaining access to the account, he passed control off to unnamed co-conspirators who issued the false tweet.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
On Jan. 9, a post on SEC's X declared "approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges," causing bitcoin to quickly jump $1,000 in price. The cryptocurrency then cratered $2,000 when the SEC regained control of its account, deleted the post and declared it false.
The SEC did end up approving the ETFs the next day.
Council was paid in bitcoin for orchestrating the account takeover, according to the FBI.
More For You
U.S. DOJ hits Paxful for $4 million in case tied to illegal sex work, money laundering
The crypto platform's penalty was sharply reduced due to its ability to pay, according to U.S. authorities.
What to know:
- The U.S. Department of Justice won a $4 million penalty from former crypto platform Paxful in a sentence tied to the dodging of money-laundering laws.
- The amount was reduced from an original amount of $112 million by prosecutors after determining the business couldn't pay that much, the DOJ said.
Top Stories
