An alleged SEC hacker linked to a fake tweet claiming that Bitcoin ETFs had been approved is arrested by the FBI.
The SEC's X account is said to have been taken over by Eric Council Jr., who then allegedly gave control to unidentified co-conspirators whose fake posts pushed up the price of bitcoin.
Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it had detained a 25-year-old man for his alleged involvement in the alleged hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission's X account in order to erroneously state that the agency had approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
A press release issued by the United States government on Thursday said that Eric Council Jr., of Athens, Alabama, and others conspired to take control of the X account. He gave control of the account to unidentified co-conspirators who then sent the false tweet.
A post on the SEC's X on January 9 announced "approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges," triggering a $1,000 price surge for bitcoin. After the SEC regained control of its account, deleted the post, and declared it false, the cryptocurrency plunged $2,000 further.
The ETFs were ultimately approved by the SEC the following day.
The FBI claims that Council was compensated in bitcoin (BTC) for orchestrating the account takeover.
The SEC's X account is said to have been taken over by Eric Council Jr., who then allegedly gave control to unidentified co-conspirators whose fake posts pushed up the price of bitcoin.
Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it had detained a 25-year-old man for his alleged involvement in the alleged hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission's X account in order to erroneously state that the agency had approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
A press release issued by the United States government on Thursday said that Eric Council Jr., of Athens, Alabama, and others conspired to take control of the X account. He gave control of the account to unidentified co-conspirators who then sent the false tweet.
A post on the SEC's X on January 9 announced "approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges," triggering a $1,000 price surge for bitcoin. After the SEC regained control of its account, deleted the post, and declared it false, the cryptocurrency plunged $2,000 further.
The ETFs were ultimately approved by the SEC the following day.
The FBI claims that Council was compensated in bitcoin (BTC) for orchestrating the account takeover.
