Abdelrahman
An individual from Alabama has admitted guilt in a conspiracy involving the hacking of the SEC’s X account (previously known as Twitter) in January 2024. The intent was to create false narratives concerning the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, potentially misleading market participants.
Eric Council, aged 25 and residing in Athens, Alabama, formally pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, as reported by Bloomberg.
At the moment, Council’s legal representative, Dwight Crawley, was unreachable for further comments. A recent attempt to communicate with Crawley by Decrypt was cut short, and later calls directing to his voicemail have gone unanswered. Updates will be provided if Decrypt receives any feedback.
This plea follows the SEC’s green light for spot Bitcoin ETFs, a significant milestone announced 13 months earlier that opened avenues for billions in institutional investments. Ironically, just a day prior to this announcement, a false tweet claiming that multiple ETFs had been approved gained traction.
The FBI apprehended Council in October, alleging that he utilized a “SIM swapping” method. This technique allowed him to assume control of a phone number belonging to an SEC employee, granting him illicit access to the agency’s social media account.
As part of the alleged operation, Council is accused of creating a counterfeit ID with stolen personal details, subsequently obtaining a new SIM card linked to an SEC employee’s mobile account.
The unauthorized tweet triggered a surge in Bitcoin’s market value, propelling its price to $47,700 before subsequently dropping to $45,600.
Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler swiftly dismissed the misleading tweet, clarifying that the SEC had not authorized any listing or trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products.
After the incident, reports indicated that Council had conducted inquiries that raised red flags, such as searching for ways to confirm if he was under FBI investigation and identifying signs of law enforcement scrutiny.
While a judge in Washington D.C. will ultimately decide Council’s fate, he could face significant penalties, including a possible 15-year prison term for identity theft and an additional three years for impersonating a federal agency.
The SEC has not yet responded to Decrypt’s request for comments.
This article was edited by Andrew Hayward.
