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Man arrested in SEC social media account hack that led the price of bitcoin to spike

An Alabama man has been arrested for his alleged role in the January hack of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission social media account that led the price of bitcoin to spike, the Justice Department said - abcnews.go.com

WASHINGTON -- An Alabama man was arrested Thursday for his alleged role in the January hack of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission social media account that led the price of bitcoin to spike, the Justice Department said.

Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, is accused of helping to break into the SEC's account on X, formerly known as Twitter, allowing the hackers to prematurely announce the approval of long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The price of bitcoin briefly spiked more than $1,000 after the post claimed "The SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.

" But soon after the initial post appeared, SEC Chairman...

ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press.