Key Takeaways:
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s official account on platform X was hacked, resulting in the dissemination of a misleading announcement regarding Bitcoin.
The unusual phrasing and language of the post drew immediate attention, prompting a quick response from government officials.
Analysis of the blockchain showed that the wallet linked to the announcement contained minimal funds and was inactive, indicating a likely phishing incident.
This Monday, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña fell victim to a social media breach when his official account on X was compromised.
The unauthentic post falsely claimed that the country had embraced Bitcoin as legal tender.
Paraguayan Government Dismisses Bitcoin Legal Tender Rumor Following Account Breach
The message, penned in English rather than Spanish, announced that Paraguay had officially adopted Bitcoin as currency. It also misrepresented the government’s establishment of a $5 million BTC reserve and the launch of a bond initiative for “crypto-enabled citizens.”
The fraudulent post encouraged users to send Bitcoin to a specified wallet address, purportedly to gauge interest for a nationwide rollout.
Quick to react, observers pointed out inconsistencies in the language and tone of the message, which starkly contrasted with Peña’s typical communications delivered in Spanish.
Shortly after the announcement surfaced, the platform flagged the account due to “irregular activity,” as noted in subsequent reports.
The Paraguayan government promptly responded, with the presidential account posting a statement in Spanish that read:
“Información falsa. Comunicado oficial de la presidencia de la República del Paraguay.” This reaffirmed that the Bitcoin announcement was entirely fabricated.
Comunicado oficial. pic.twitter.com/Bk3XI6ohpp
— Presidencia Paraguay (@PresidenciaPy) June 9, 2025
Despite the official warning, the hacker attempted to obscure the government’s prompt correction by burying the response beneath the scam post. The fraudulent message remained visible for a while, potentially misleading unsuspecting users.
On-chain investigation revealed that the wallet address associated with the hacker held merely $4 and had no recorded transactions since the fake announcement. Although this pointed to minimal activity, the characteristics of the post closely resembled a traditional crypto phishing scheme.
Authorities urged the public to disregard any future posts from the presidential account until its security could be verified. Paraguay’s national cybersecurity team has initiated an investigation and is collaborating with X to resolve the situation and restore the integrity of the account.
“We request that citizens ignore any messages from the presidential account until we can assure its safety,” the government commented.
Increasing Crypto Scam Incidents Target Political and Industry Figures Across Latin America
The hacking incident involving President Santiago Peña adds to a troubling trend of high-profile social media breaches, many of which have aimed at the crypto sector and public figures to propagate misinformation and schemes.
In the past year, there has been a noticeable uptick in cybercriminals exploiting X for crypto phishing attacks.
In May 2025 alone, the accounts of the Ethereum Layer-2 project ZKsync and its developer Matter Labs were compromised, leading to fraudulent messages about SEC investigations and phishing links masquerading as airdrops.
@zksync & @the_matter_labs official X accounts hacked to post fake SEC alerts & phishing airdrops—ZK token drops 5%. #zksync #sec #phishing https://t.co/j4Yx6HHaob
— Finance Newso.com (@Finance Newso) May 13, 2025
During the same timeframe, the New York Post’s account was taken over, with hackers impersonating journalists to lure crypto users with deceptive podcast offers via Telegram.
Earlier this year, Canadian regulators issued warnings about fake articles promoting crypto scams that featured political endorsements.
Moreover, state-sponsored hackers from the Lazarus Group have posed as venture capitalists in phony Zoom meetings to pilfer users’ private keys.
Paraguay has shown no intention to replicate El Salvador’s controversial move to make Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, a step that remains legally ambiguous following an IMF agreement reached in late 2024.
As Bitcoin mining activity in Paraguay gains momentum—thanks in part to the nation’s surplus hydroelectric power—regulatory challenges have escalated. Industrial stakeholders have raised concerns that impending electricity rate hikes could drive miners away.
In 2024, over 10,000 illegal mining operations were dismantled amid rising tensions surrounding mining regulations, highlighting the dangers posed by the misuse of official platforms to spread misinformation in this increasingly precarious sector.
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