Crypto News Update: Major Developments in SEC Hacking Case, Ether ETPs, and Market Reactions

US Authorities Offer Plea Deal in SEC X Account Hack

• Eric Council Jr., accused of hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account, has been offered a plea deal.
• The plea agreement includes forfeiting $50,000 and pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.
• Council allegedly participated in a SIM swap attack to take control of the SEC’s account in January 2024.
• The hackers posted a false announcement claiming the SEC had approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
• The SEC quickly removed the post and later officially approved Bitcoin ETFs within 24 hours.
• Council’s sentencing is scheduled for May 16, 2025.

Ether ETPs Surpass Bitcoin in Inflows for the First Time in 2025

• Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded a fifth straight week of inflows, totaling $1.3 billion.
• Ether (ETH) ETPs saw 95% more inflows than Bitcoin (BTC) ETPs, bringing in $793 million.
• Bitcoin ETPs saw a 19% drop in inflows compared to the previous week, totaling $407 million.
• The surge in Ether ETPs followed ETH’s price drop below $2,700, leading to buying-on-weakness.
• Despite this, Bitcoin still leads year-to-date (YTD) inflows with $6 billion, which is 505% higher than Ether’s YTD total.

Crypto Markets React to Trump’s Tariff Announcement

• On Feb. 9, crypto markets dipped after Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel.
• Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $94,000 but recovered above $97,000 within two hours.
• Ether (ETH) dropped to $2,537 before rebounding to $2,645.
• The drop mirrored an early February market crash, triggered by Trump’s previous tariff threats against Canada, Mexico, and China.
• In that instance, crypto liquidations reached up to $10 billion before the market rebounded when Trump temporarily paused tariffs on Mexico and Canada.