Paraguay’s President, Santiago Peña, became the latest high-profile target of a social media hack, as his official X (formerly Twitter) account was hijacked to falsely announce Bitcoin as legal tender in the country.
Early Monday, the President’s personal X account shocked followers with claims that Paraguay had adopted Bitcoin as legal tender and introduced a $5 million BTC reserve.
The post even included a wallet address and urged citizens to send funds, promising bond access based on how much they invested. However, the post was quickly flagged as fake.
Shortly after, Paraguay’s official presidential X account stepped in and issued a public warning. In Spanish, it stated: “Información falsa. Comunicado oficial de la presidencia de la República del Paraguay.” (False information. Official statement from the presidency of the Republic of Paraguay.)
Shockingly, the hacker hid replies from the verified government account, trying to trick users into believing the scam was real. On-chain data shows the provided wallet holds only $4 and hasn’t received any transactions since the post.
Despite the false announcement, the price of Bitcoin briefly spiked to $109,000 before dropping back to around $108,400.
The incident shows that more hackers are now focusing on influential people to spread scams about cryptocurrencies. It is a good reminder to always look into the sources of big crypto news.
Paraguayan authorities are investigating the case and advise everyone not to interact with links or wallets that appear suspicious, even if they are from a verified account.
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