Eric Council, a 25-year-old resident of Athens, Alabama, was charged with “conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.” The false announcement led to the price of Bitcoin spiking by over $1,000 before swiftly dropping back down by $2,000 as the SEC regained control of its account and confirmed the hack.
Council could face up to 15 years in prison for identity theft and three years for impersonating a federal agency if found guilty.
A man who hijacked the official X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to post a false announcement about the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been arrested. The SEC approved the spot Bitcoin ETFs the day after the hack, drawing billions of dollars in investor money.
