X Account of Paraguay's President Hacked, Posting Fake News Declaring Bitcoin as Legal Tender and Calling for Public Investment.
Paraguay's President Hacked on X, Calling for Bitcoin Investment. Photo: Bloomberg
Head of State's Account Hacked
Early this morning (10/06), the X account of Paraguay's President – Mr. Santiago Peña – unexpectedly posted shocking content: declaring Bitcoin as legal tender, establishing a 5 million USD Bitcoin reserve fund, issuing Bitcoin bonds, and calling on the public to contribute to a BTC wallet with an enticing invitation.
This English statement, completely contrary to previous posts which were always in Spanish, the primary language of Paraguay, immediately raised suspicions among netizens.
Hate to ruin the fun but I have a suspicion this post may not be legit https://t.co/agkyacZY3O pic.twitter.com/GSoLCHvdnH
— db (@tier10k) June 9, 2025
Just a few hours later, the Paraguay Presidential Palace confirmed that Mr. Peña's account had been compromised, and all content related to Bitcoin was fabricated.
False information. Official statement from the Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay. pic.twitter.com/AQfpLQ3idY
— Presidencia Paraguay (@PresidenciaPy) June 9, 2025
Some even sarcastically remarked that the hacker should at least learn Spanish if they truly wanted to appear more credible.
Hacker could tried to write in Spanish to sounds a bit more legit pic.twitter.com/ufH34lz5ly
— Pongl (@cpongl) June 9, 2025
What occurred was a deliberate, sophisticated, and carefully scripted financial fraud campaign. The attackers exploited the reputation of a head of state to create a sense of legitimacy, presenting an attractive message to stimulate FOMO (fear of missing out). They even prepared a Bitcoin wallet and attached it to the post as an investment gateway to Paraguay's future.
Preliminary investigation revealed that this BTC wallet contained only about 4 USD and had no significant transactions, indicating this was a simple phishing scheme targeting gullible individuals who would be swayed by a message from a head of state.
Government Response
Immediately after the incident, the official government website called on the public to disregard the content posted during the account's compromise. Simultaneously, the national cybersecurity agency began collaborating with X to investigate, verify the source of the attack, and restore account control.
While attacking a head of state's social media account might sound shocking, it's actually not uncommon. Over the past years, the world has witnessed numerous hacks targeting high-level accounts, not just to spread misinformation but also to scam followers.
A classic example was in 2020 when dozens of famous X accounts were simultaneously hacked - including Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Kanye West, and large corporations like Apple and Uber. All these accounts were used to distribute a familiar fraud pattern of a "rare investment opportunity" promising to double money if users transferred Bitcoin to a specified wallet. More worryingly, past lessons have not been sufficient to completely prevent similar incidents.
Paraguay has long been a destination for large-scale Bitcoin mining activities, notably including HIVE Blockchain Technologies' facilities. Thanks to cheap hydroelectric power, this South American country attracts international cryptocurrency mining companies.
However, unlike El Salvador, which legalized Bitcoin since 2021, Paraguay has not yet issued a clear legal framework for cryptocurrencies. This makes fake news about recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender seem more "credible" to the public.
Compiled by Coin68
