Odaily News Eric Council Jr, a 25-year-old man from Alabama, admitted to participating in the hack of the SEC's "X" account. In January last year, he posted a false post on the platform announcing the authorization of the first (spot) Bitcoin ETF. Council Jr pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in federal court in Washington on Monday.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson is scheduled to hand down sentencing on May 16. Prosecutors allege Coulson used a fake ID and tricked a local cell phone store employee into helping him hack into his victim's phone. The hack of the SEC account came a day before analysts expected the SEC to announce its approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. The hacker's fake post on January 9, 2024, caused the price of Bitcoin to surge. The SEC later confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized, and the cryptocurrency's price immediately fell. The next day, the SEC officially announced its approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. (Bloomberg)