title: A 26-year-old man from Alabama has been sentenced to more than a year in prison for his role in a social media hack that briefly sent the price of bitcoin

Eric Council Jr. of Huntsville pleaded guilty to charges tied to the January 2024 hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account

A 26-year-old man from Alabama has been sentenced to more than a year in prison for his role in a social media hack that briefly sent the price of bitcoin soaring by $1,000.

Eric Council Jr., of Huntsville, pleaded guilty to charges tied to the January 2024 hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

Posing as a telecom customer using a fraudulent ID, Council used a SIM-swap technique to hijack a phone number tied to the SEC’s account. His co-conspirators then used it to falsely post that the agency had approved spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a long-awaited regulatory milestone.

Within minutes, the price of bitcoin surged by more than $1,000. It crashed soon after, losing more than $2,000 in value once the post was revealed as fake. The SEC did later that month approve the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs.

Authorities say Council was paid in bitcoin for his role. He will serve 14 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

“Today’s sentence reflects the serious consequences of cybercrime and the importance of safeguarding our institutions from those who seek to disrupt them,” said Acting FBI Assistant Director Darren Cox. “The brazen takeover of a federal agency’s official communications platform was a calculated criminal act meant to deceive the public and manipulate financial markets. By spreading false information to influence the markets, Council attempted to erode public trust and exploit the financial system.”