Man pleads guilty to role in SEC social media account hack that led the price of bitcoin to spike

An Alabama man has admitted to taking part in a January 2024 hack of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission social media account designed to manipulate the price of bitcoin. Eric Council Jr. pleaded guilty to an identity theft charge in U.S. District Court in Washington on Monday, court records show. His sentencing is set for May. Prosecutors said Council was arrested in October and charged with helping to break into the SEC’s account on X, and allowing unnamed co-conspirators to falsely announce the approval of long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded funds.