"Alabama Man Pleads Guilty in SEC Hack, Bitcoin ETF Hoax"

A 25-year-old man from Alabama, Eric Council Jr, has pleaded guilty in a Washington federal court to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The charges stem from his involvement in the hacking of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "X" account in January 2024. Council admitted to posting a false announcement on the platform, claiming the approval of the first Bitcoin spot ETF, which caused the price of Bitcoin to skyrocket. The SEC later confirmed the announcement was unauthorized, leading to a significant drop in the cryptocurrency's price.

Council's sentencing is scheduled for May 16th, and prosecutors accused him of using forged identification and deceiving an employee at a local cell phone store to aid in the hacking. The day before the SEC account was compromised, analysts predicted that the SEC would announce the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, which eventually happened the day after the hack.

The hacker's actions highlight the potential impact of false information on cryptocurrency markets. While the SEC has not yet approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, the possibility of such an approval has been a topic of discussion and speculation in the industry. The incident also serves as a reminder of the importance of verifying information from official sources before acting on it.