Hacker Admits Role in Fake Spot Bitcoin ETF Tweet
Eric Council faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his role in a scheme to falsely announce SEC approval of crypto ETFs last January.
A 25-year-old Georgia man admitted to his role in a conspiracy to hack into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account and falsely announce that the regulator had approved long-awaited spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Eric Council, of Athens, Georgia, pled guilty to a single conspiracy count in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, the court said in a statement. The count was aggravated identity theft, in which Council and others manipulated cell phone chips to impersonate SEC officials, gained access to the @SECgov X account, and on Jan. 9, 2024 falsely announced approval of 10 exchange-traded funds.
The false tweet sparked chaos and a 2.8% jump—a roughly $1,000 spike—in bitcoin’s price after the close of regular stock trading. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was then trading under $45,000.
Anticipation for the debut of the funds had been building for months and gained momentum after the SEC lost a court case that would have blocked creation of the funds.
The SEC that day quickly announced the tweet was false. The funds were approved about 24 hours later. Spot bitcoin ETFs have gone on to generate more than $40 billion in inflows and are widely seen as among the most successful launches in ETFs' more than 30-year history.
Council, arrested Oct. 17, received $50,000 for his part in a scheme also involving unidentified members of the conspiracy. The press release didn’t name other members of the group, while it mentioned he “conspired with others” to carry out the plan.
Spot Bitcoin Hacker Sentencing
Council is scheduled for sentencing May 16 and faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.
Council and others carried out so-called SIM (Subscriber Identity Model) swaps, grabbing information from a phone’s chips and using it to take control of a victim’s phone. Council and others used the tactic to gain access to the mobile phone associated with the official account of the SEC and send the false tweet.
