SEC Hacker Sentenced: $50,000 Scam Sparks Price Jump from Fake ETF Announcement

Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old hacker, faces a two-year prison sentence for exploiting the SEC’s X account to create a fake announcement regarding Bitcoin ETF approvals. The malicious scheme resulted in a temporary spike of over $1,000 in Bitcoin value before being retracted by the SEC. Council reportedly profited $50,000 from the scam and will be sentenced following federal prosecutors’ recommendation.