Key Takeaways:
- Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña had his official X account compromised, resulting in the unfold of a false announcement about Bitcoin.
- The language and content material of the submit raised instant purple flags amongst observers, prompting swift clarification from the Paraguayan authorities.
- On-chain evaluation confirmed the connected pockets had minimal funds and no exercise, suggesting a phishing try.
Paraguay’s President, Santiago Peña, grew to become the most recent high-profile determine to fall sufferer to a social media hack after his official X account was compromised on Monday.
The breach resulted in a pretend announcement claiming the nation had adopted Bitcoin as authorized tender.
Paraguay Denies Bitcoin Authorized Tender Declare After Presidential Account Hack
The message, written unusually in English reasonably than Spanish, declared that Paraguay had made Bitcoin an official forex. It additionally claimed the federal government had created a $5 million BTC reserve and launched a bond program for “crypto-enabled residents.”
The submit urged customers to ship any quantity of Bitcoin to a pockets handle, supposedly to find out the size of a nationwide rollout.
Observers shortly flagged the message as suspicious. Many famous that the language and tone have been inconsistent with earlier communications from the president, who usually posts in Spanish.
Shortly after the submit went reside, the platform flagged the account for “irregular exercise,” in response to an extra report.
The Paraguayan authorities swiftly issued an official response. The presidential account posted a message in Spanish that learn:
“Información falsa. Comunicado oficial de la presidencia de la República del Paraguay.” This assertion confirmed that the Bitcoin announcement was false.
Comunicado oficial. pic.twitter.com/Bk3XI6ohpp
— Presidencia Paraguay (@PresidenciaPy) June 9, 2025
Nonetheless, the hacker tried to hide the federal government’s warning by hiding the official reply beneath the rip-off submit. The fraudulent message remained reside for a time, presumably deceptive unsuspecting customers.
On-chain information revealed that the pockets handle offered by the hacker held solely $4 and had recorded no transactions for the reason that announcement. Regardless of the low exercise, the character of the submit resembled a traditional crypto phishing scheme.
Authorities urged the general public to not belief any posts from the president’s account till additional discover. Paraguay’s nationwide cybersecurity crew has launched an investigation and is working with X to resolve the incident and restore management over the account.
“We ask residents to disregard any messages from the presidential account till we verify its safety,” the federal government stated.
Ongoing Crypto Rip-off Wave Hits Political and Business Targets Throughout Latin America
The hacking of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s official X account provides to a rising string of high-profile social media compromises, a lot of which have focused the crypto business and public figures to unfold misinformation and scams.
Over the previous 12 months, risk actors have more and more exploited X for crypto-related phishing assaults.
In Could 2025 alone, the X accounts of Ethereum Layer-2 mission ZKsync and its developer Matter Labs, have been breached.
@zksync & @the_matter_labs official X accounts hacked to submit pretend SEC alerts & phishing airdrops—ZK token drops 5%.#zksync #sec #phishinghttps://t.co/j4Yx6HHaob
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) Could 13, 2025
Hackers posted fraudulent messages claiming the protocol was below U.S. investigation and shared phishing hyperlinks disguised as airdrops.
Across the similar time, the New York Submit’s account was hijacked to impersonate journalists and lure crypto customers into pretend podcast provides by way of Telegram.
Earlier within the 12 months, Canadian regulators additionally flagged pretend articles that includes political endorsements used to advertise crypto scams.
State-sponsored hackers from the Lazarus Group have additionally posed as VCs in pretend Zoom conferences to steal customers’ personal keys.”
Paraguay has proven no intention to comply with El Salvador’s 2021 transfer, which stays in a authorized grey space following an IMF settlement reached in late 2024.
In the meantime, Paraguay’s crypto scene is below strain. As Bitcoin mining positive aspects traction, due to the nation’s hydroelectric surplus, regulatory tensions are rising.
Industrial gamers warn that new electrical energy charges might drive miners away.
With over 10,000 illicit mining rigs seized in 2024 and tensions rising round mining laws, the misuse of official platforms for misinformation poses an actual risk to public understanding in an already risky sector.
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