FBI Successfully Arrests Alabama Man for SEC X (formerly Twitter) Account Hack that Spiked Bitcoin Value

1 month ago 13

The FBI has finally arrested the culprit responsible for hacking the X account of the American securities regulatory body and posting fake news about Bitcoin spot ETF approval.

In January of this year, there was huge uncertainty regarding the approval or rejection of Bitcoin spot ETF applications in the U.S. In the second week of that month, a person hacked the X (formerly Twitter) account of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and posted fake information claiming that the SEC had approved Bitcoin spot ETF applications. At that time, the price of Bitcoin surged by $1,000 following the fake post. Later, SEC officials were able to counter the attack and regain control of the X account.

As per the latest official information, the FBI arrested Eric Council Jr., 25, from Athens, Alabama, for his role in the January 2024 hacking of the SEC’s X account.

Council faces charges of conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and access device fraud. After the fake post, the SEC regained control of the account, and Bitcoin’s price dropped after the correction. The investigation is ongoing.

At the time of the SEC X account hack, many crypto advocates were pleased with the incident and used it as criticism against the SEC, which had been rejecting Bitcoin spot ETF applications for the past two years.

Even top ETF experts speculated that while the hacker gained access to the SEC’s X account, the published message was real and may have been prepared for release by the SEC’s X account handler at the time of approval.