Eric Council Jr, the man who hacked the SEC’s X account last January, was sentenced to 14 months in prison today. In addition to the prison time, Council must forfeit $50,000 and be subject to three years of supervised release.
He was arrested in October 2024, and prosecutors offered him a deal shortly afterward. Council apparently took it in February, pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft.
What’s Next for the SEC X Hacker?
At the beginning of 2024, rumors about a Bitcoin ETF approval were turning into a tremendous hype wave. Therefore, when Council hacked the SEC’s X account to claim that it got the green light, this caused market pandemonium.
Bitcoin rose more than $1,000 shortly afterwards, and the hunt for Council began. Today, the story finally ended.
The US Attorney’s office announced that Council had been sentenced for the infamous SEC hack. Court documents showed that he used a SIM Swap to compromise a phone with access to the X account.
“Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system. SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens, financial institutions, and government agencies. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can’t be caught. You will be caught, prosecuted, and will pay the price,” claimed US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Interestingly, government prosecutors repeatedly alleged that Eric Council had several co-conspirators in committing the SEC hack. However, none of them have been named, arrested, or charged with anything yet.
The government offered Council a plea deal shortly after his arrest, on the condition that he name these individuals. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in February, presumably suggesting that he did indeed cooperate.
It seems a little strange that there haven’t been any developments in this broader investigation over the last three months.
Still, Council has personally faced justice for his role in the SEC hack. He was sentenced to forfeit $50,000 and spend 14 months in prison.
After his release, he will be under police supervision for the next three years, ensuring that he does not access the dark web or commit identity fraud.
Onyxcoin (XCN) has jumped 20% this week, marking a double-digit rally that has caught the attention of institutional investors.
As the altcoin’s price climbs, technical analysis reveals a rise in accumulation from large investors, often called “smart money,” signaling increased optimism about the token’s short-term price growth.
Institutional Confidence in XCN Grows
The surge in institutional interest is evident in XCN’s climbing Smart Money Index (SMI). As the token’s price rallied over the past week, its SMI has also climbed and currently stands at 0.91.
The SMI indicator tracks the trading activity of institutional investors, often considered the “smart money.” It analyzes intraday price movements, focusing on the first and last trading hours.
When the SMI rises alongside an asset’s price, major investors are accumulating positions, indicating confidence in the asset’s upward trend. This alignment between XCN’s SMI and its price rally is a bullish signal, reflecting strong market sentiment and the potential for a continued price increase.
Moreover, readings from XCN’s Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator support this bullish outlook. At press time, the token’s MACD line (blue) rests above the signal line (orange).
This crossover is typically interpreted as a bullish signal, suggesting upward momentum is gaining strength. It indicates that XCN’s recent buying pressure is outpacing historical averages, which could lead to continued price gains.
XCN Bulls Hold the Line
On the daily chart, the XCN token rests solidly above its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA). This key moving average forms dynamic support below the token’s price at $0.017.
An asset’s 20-day EMA measures an asset’s average price over the past 20 trading days, giving weight to recent prices. When an asset’s price trades above this indicator, the bulls have market control as buying pressure outweighs selloffs.
If this trend persists for XCN, its price could break above the resistance at $0.023 and climb toward $0.028. Should the bulls flip this level into a support floor, XCN could reclaim $0.033.
However, a surge in profit-taking activity will invalidate this bullish projection. In that scenario, the XCN token value could plunge below its 20-day EMA at $0.017 and fall toward $0.0075.
Speculation about Nvidia adding Bitcoin to its treasury reserves has surfaced recently. These unconfirmed reports lead to questions about the potential for increased institutional adoption of Bitcoin and the possible performance of such a move for Nvidia, whose stock value has fallen considerably this year.
BeInCrypto interviewed representatives from Banxe, FINEQIA, CoinShares, Bitunix, and Acre BTC to discuss Bitcoin’s potential benefits for Nvidia and explore whether such an investment would ultimately benefit the company in the long run.
Rumors of Nvidia’s Potential Bitcoin Investment
Over the past few weeks, several reports have surfaced across social media suggesting that Nvidia, a pioneer in GPU-accelerated computing, is considering adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet.
These reports remain purely speculative at the time of press, given that Nvidia has not made any official statements on the topic. When BeInCrypto reached out for clarification, an Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment.
Even as rumors, these reports highlight the significant impact of such a decision on Bitcoin’s public perception. Given Nvidia’s current economic circumstances, marked by a substantial drop in stock value, an announcement of this nature would not be completely unexpected.
As such, Nvidia’s stock price has taken a hit. According to recent reports, Nvidia stock has fallen 35% since its latest price peak in January.
Nvidia’s stock reacted especially poorly to the news that China’s Huawei Technologies is testing a new AI chip potentially more powerful than Nvidia’s H100.
Given these circumstances, Nvidia can mitigate current economic challenges by diversifying its treasury assets.
Should Nvidia Consider Adding Bitcoin to Its Balance Sheet?
Such a move would significantly alter how other institutional investors view Bitcoin, potentially encouraging more companies to adopt a similar strategy. The crypto community would likely celebrate the news, believing it would solidify Bitcoin’s legitimacy as an asset class.
However, the extent to which Nvidia requires Bitcoin for stability remains controversial.
Risks of Adding Bitcoin to Nvidia’s Treasury
As it is, Nvidia already has other strategies that help the company hedge against volatility and inflation. Adding Bitcoin into the mix may seem excessive.
This becomes especially true when considering just how volatile Bitcoin itself can be. Though the asset can generate significant gains during bullish periods, the losses it can cause are equally severe.
As such, Bitcoin might not be the natural choice to defend Nvidia from its current stock declines. An investment of this kind would need to reflect a long-term strategy rather than an impulse decision.
Would BTC Even Make a Difference on Nvidia’s Share Price?
Bitcoin has demonstrated high returns over the long term, though with considerable volatility. For companies able to withstand the associated risks, including large price fluctuations, it offers the potential for significant future profits.
With its substantial financial resources, Nvidia could absorb Bitcoin’s volatility without a major impact on its balance sheet. In this sense, the company has little to lose, but also little to gain.
Ultimately, Nvidia’s decision to invest in Bitcoin hinges on timing and urgency, particularly given recent developments that have alleviated some pressures on the company.
Easing Export Restrictions: A Boost for Nvidia
Last week, the Trump administration announced its plans to roll back certain Biden-era export restrictions on advanced semiconductor chips.
Biden’s ‘AI Diffusion Rule’ established these restrictions to enhance US technological leadership by preventing advanced chips from being diverted to countries of concern, especially China. Given that China was Nvidia’s main buyer, the rule significantly hampered its sales.
A rollback would be highly advantageous for Nvidia’s sales, especially amid this new wave of chipmakers.
Similarly, the recent US-China tariff pause led to Nvidia’s stock price rise. Despite its temporary nature, the news is a positive sign for the company, promising reduced uncertainty and potential gains in sales and supply chain stability.
Considering these developments, adding Bitcoin to Nvidia’s balance sheet may no longer be urgent. If Nvidia were to make such a decision out of haste, it might also drive away traditional investors and long-time buyers.
Many areas of traditional finance remain highly skeptical of Bitcoin due to its short history and highly volatile nature. If Nvidia adds Bitcoin as a treasury asset, traditional investors might view it as a poor decision, potentially alienating long-time clients.
Circle’s USDC (USDC) has become the first and only stablecoin officially approved for use in Japan’s regulated financial market. This marks a significant step toward mainstream adoption of the stablecoin in one of Asia’s largest economies.
This move follows shortly after the Philippines’ leading digital wallet, GCash, added support for the dollar-backed coin.
SBI Holdings and Circle Bring USDC to Japan
In the latest press release, the company revealed a strategic joint venture with SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial conglomerate. The partnership will see SBI VC Trade, a cryptocurrency exchange under SBI Holdings, launch USDC trading on March 26, 2025.
Other prominent exchanges, including Binance Japan, Bitbank, and BitFlyer, are set to follow suit, further expanding USDC’s reach in the region. The approval comes after SBI VC Trade secured regulatory clearance from the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) on March 4, 2025.
Circle’s expansion into Japan through its local entity, Circle Japan KK, signals growing institutional confidence in USDC’s reliability and utility. By integrating USDC into Japan’s digital finance ecosystem, Circle aims to provide secure solutions for payments, settlements, and treasury operations, potentially setting a precedent for stablecoin adoption globally.
Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO of Circle, celebrated the achievement in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“We have spent 2+ years engaging with Japan’s regulators, major industry players, strategic partners, banking partners, and others to enable USDC for the Japanese market, which unlocks tremendous opportunities not just in trading digital assets but more broadly in payments, cross-border finance and commerce, FX and more,” Allaire stated.
Yoshitaka Kitao, President and CEO of SBI Holdings, stressed that Circle’s entry into Japan will enhance financial accessibility and drive innovation in the digital economy.
“We believe this initiative will enhance financial accessibility and drive digital asset innovation, aligning with our broader vision for the future of payments and blockchain-based finance in Japan,” Kitao said.
That’s not all. USDC’s circulation grew by 78% year-over-year. The report also shed lights on USDC’s expanded accessibility to more than 500 million user wallets worldwide. Circle expects this growth to continue in 2025.
“Beyond the US dollar’s preeminent role in trade, payments, and global finance, three factors are poised to accelerate the adoption and utility of USDC. First, legal and regulatory clarity; second, the scalability of new blockchain networks; and third, superior UX,” the report added.
