- Alabama man admitted to hacking SEC’s X account 13 months back on January 9, 2024.
- Eric posted a fake tweet on SEC’s X account mimicking that the agency approved Bitcoin ETFs.
- After the arrest in 2024, Eric’s Google search data raised doubts, leading to his confession.
The crypto community received the most awaited response from the SEC: the approval of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds. But little did they know this was entirely false information. Eric Council, a 25-year-old man from Alabama, was the source behind this fake information. His illicit post about the approval of spot BTC ETFs caused the price of Bitcoin to spike from $46,600 to $47,680.
Council’s Masterplan To Hack
Eric Council Jr., of Athens, Alabama, used the “SIM swapping” technique and ultimately gained unauthorized access to the SEC’s X account. Using the personal information of an SEC employee, he created a fake ID. With this, he bought a new SIM card and an iPhone from Huntsville.
Later, he accessed the SEC’s X account and shared the login details with his allies. After accessing the account, he made a fake post stating that the SEC had approved spot Bitcoin ETFs. This incident stirred the entire market and BTC’s price increased by $1000 on the day. With his cleverness, he disposed the phone in Birmingham, to misguide law enforcement.
Gary Glenser’s Quick Dismissal
However, Eric’s criminal plan was shortlived after Gary Gensler, the former Chair of the SEC, posted an update on the official SEC X profile. His debunking news drew heavy criticism from the crypto community as the SEC, meant to protect investors, failed to protect its own account.
Although the news received backlash from the community, some made jest of the issue by posting memes and jokes about the matter. Some even took the chance to point out the SEC’s 2023 post about warning people not to believe everything they read on the internet.
Related Article: U.S. Bitcoin ETFs Record $987M Inflows Amid Bullish Trend
Arrest and Conviction
After 10 months, on October 17, 2024, the FBI arrested Eric Council and charged him with hacking the SEC’s X account. Council was further charged with identity theft and impersonating a federal agency.
On a deeper level of investigation, the FBI found his queries on the internet. He has browsed queries like “How can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI” and “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have been contacted by them.” This led the prosecutors to become suspicious and eventually tightened their investigation, leading to a final confession that found him guilty of his actions.
Now, his sentence is at the hands of a Washington judge who ultimately might determine the 18-year prison sentence with 15 years for identity theft and 3 years for impersonating a federal agency. On a final note, the SEC’s delay in approving BTC ETFs might have caused this chaos, which presumably led to their sudden approval just the day after the hack, on January 10, 2025.
