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FBI agents on Thursday morning arrested a 25-year-old Alabama man on charges related to the hack in January of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, which led to the price of bitcoin spiking by more than $1,000, the Department of Justice announced.
The man, Eric Council Jr., is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, the DOJ said.
Council is accused of conspiring with others to hack the SEC’s account and send a fake tweet in the name of the agency’s chairman on Jan. 9 that said, “Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.”
Bitcoin’s price rose by more than $1,000 after that bogus tweet was posted.
Shortly afterward, the SEC regained control of its social media account, and announced the tweet was false and due to a hack.
“Following this corrective disclosure, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin,” the DOJ noted.
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