Feds Demand Prison Time for SEC Impersonator Who Tanked Markets With Fake Bitcoin ETF Tweet

Justice Department prosecutors want a 24-month sentence for the hacker who hijacked the SEC’s Twitter account in 2024—triggering a crypto market rollercoaster with a fraudulent Bitcoin ETF approval post.

The rogue tweet briefly added $100B to crypto’s market cap before the inevitable crash—proving once again that Wall Street’s ’efficient markets’ will believe anything if it’s blue-check verified.

While the defendant claims it was just a ’prank,’ the DOJ isn’t laughing—citing $5M in trader losses and the sacred principle that only regulators get to manipulate markets illegally.

Hacker fakes SEC Bitcoin ETF approval in SIM swap attack

Eric Council Jr made $50,000 performing the attack and even searched how to tell if the FBI was investigating him, recent filings show.

At the time of the hack, many noted that the commission had a lot of Bitcoin ETFs on its plate that it needed to get to in the new year. Eric Council’s post led to confusion and speculation among supporters.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an official release the day after, consenting to the ETFs. But at that point, the damage had already been done.

The hacker had employed a fake ID to persuade a mobile phone service provider to release a new SIM card tied to the exchange commission’s phone number. He later received a password reset code for the SEC’s X account and provided it to his co-conspirators.

Council’s attack exposes SEC’s cyber weakness

The hack revealed gaping holes in the commission’s digital security systems. At the time, multi-factor authentication (MFA) had been disabled on the SEC’s X account because of internal access concerns.

This made it easier for Council and his group to take over the account. Following the breach, the commission stated that it had re-enabled Multifactor authentification on all official accounts and advised the public to continue visiting its website for the latest official news.

Council’s case is playing out as changes in leadership are roiling the US Justice Department. Most recently, President Donald TRUMP named acting US Attorneys in several districts, including Washington, D.C., without the approval of the Senate.

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