10.06.2025 01:45

Cybercriminals successfully compromised the official X account of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, exploiting it to disseminate a fraudulent announcement declaring Bitcoin as legal tender within the nation. This deceptive message, quickly spread online, claimed the South American country had adopted Bitcoin as official currency.

The hacked tweet, featuring President Peña's verified account, urged users to secure their Bitcoin holdings, providing wallet addresses as further evidence of its illegitimate nature. Such a tactic is wholly inconsistent with genuine government communications, immediately highlighting the fraudulent nature of the post. No official government channels or press releases have confirmed any such decision regarding Bitcoin's legal status in Paraguay.

The Presidencia Paraguay X account promptly issued a statement confirming the security breach affecting President Peña's personal X account. This swift response helped to limit the impact of the disinformation campaign. The fraudulent post, promoting Bitcoin adoption with suspicious wallet addresses, has since been removed.

While El Salvador's pioneering adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 garnered significant attention, its subsequent scaling back of the initiative, driven by challenges including low public adoption and pressure from international organizations like the IMF, serves as a cautionary tale. The incident highlights the vulnerability of high-profile accounts to sophisticated cyberattacks and the potential for widespread dissemination of misinformation. This incident underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures for government officials and the need for critical evaluation of online information.