"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 Gary Gensler said on his personal account that the SEC's account was compromised. "The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products," Gensler wrote, calling the post unauthorized without providing further explanation."
"Authorities say Council carried out what's known as a "SIM swap," using a fake ID to impersonate someone with access to the SEC's X account and convince a cellphone store to give him a SIM card linked to the person's phone. Council was able to take over the person's cellphone number and get access codes to the SEC's X account, which he shared with others who broke into the account and sent the post, the Justice Department says."
An Alabama man was arrested for an alleged role in a January hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission's X account that led to a false announcement of bitcoin ETF approval and a brief price spike. Authorities allege he performed a SIM swap using a fake ID to impersonate an authorized user, obtained a SIM card and control of the person's cellphone number, retrieved access codes to the SEC X account, and shared them with others who posted the unauthorized message. Prosecutors charged him with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. Bitcoin prices swung sharply after the post.
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