In a notable turn of events, Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old man from Alabama, has admitted guilt to charges connected to the hacking of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account, previously referred to as Twitter during the Bitcoin ETF announcement in January 2024.
According to Bloomberg, Council admitted to conspiring to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud during a federal court hearing in Washington on Monday. He is set to be sentenced on May 16.
Causing The Fake Bitcoin ETF Announcement
The case stems from a malicious incident where Council and his co-conspirators sent a fraudulent social media post that falsely announced the approval of the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF.
This hack occurred just a day before analysts anticipated the SEC’s official announcement regarding these much-anticipated Bitcoin ETF approval.
The fake post, disseminated on January 9, 2024, led to a temporary surge in BTC’s price, only to plummet once the SEC confirmed that the Bitcoin ETF announcement was unauthorized.
Prosecutors revealed that Council used a fake ID and manipulated a local phone store employee into helping him access the victim’s phone. His co-conspirators were instrumental in identifying the victim and breaching security measures on X.
The subsequent fallout from the hack highlighted both the vulnerabilities in the regulatory system and the importance of securing digital identities.
As this legal drama unfolds, the SEC itself is undergoing a transformation. Although Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Gary Gensler as chair has not yet been officially appointed, the agency is taking preliminary steps toward approving several new cryptocurrency ETFs.
SEC Seeks Public Comments On Grayscale’s Solana And Litecoin ETFs
Last week, the SEC announced it is seeking public comments on Grayscale’s proposed Solana and Litecoin ETFs—an encouraging sign for the crypto market after a period of stagnation in ETF approvals.
“The mere acceptance of the filings into the review process indicates that their view is already changing,” stated Teddy Fusaro, president of Bitwise, which has filed for a Solana ETF. This marks a notable shift from the SEC’s previous stance, which had rejected applications for ETFs tracking the spot prices of these altcoins.
In recent months, the landscape for cryptocurrency ETFs has dramatically evolved, particularly following Trump’s election victory, which has spurred a wave of filings. Issuers are now proposing a variety of innovative products, including those that track tokens like Dogecoin and even a Trump-themed memecoin.
While the SEC is currently inviting public comments on Grayscale’s filings, it has also indicated it will review whether to allow in-kind creations and redemptions for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF.
However, these recent moves do not guarantee approval, and the review process can take months. Complicating matters, the SEC has yet to clarify which underlying crypto assets in existing filings qualify as securities.
Jim Angel, an associate professor at Georgetown University, noted that the SEC remains in a transitional phase, which could affect its decision-making on crypto-related products. “Clearly, the Gensler SEC thought everything was a security. Atkins has not yet been installed, so the SEC is still in a bit of an interregnum,” he explained.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
