On June 9th, the X account of Paraguayan President Santiago Pena was attacked by hackers. The hackers released an unauthorized statement, claiming that Bitcoin would become the legal tender of the country.
The statement also includes a false plan to establish a Bitcoin Treasury and increase the amount of Bitcoin by 5 million US dollars. The statement said that the new law “officially recognizes Bitcoin as legal tender”, and promised to establish a government Bitcoin reserve worth 5 million US dollars at the national Ministry of Finance. It also promised to issue bonds to “cryptocurrency-authorized” citizens and urged readers to contact the staff of the Ministry of Finance.
A few minutes after the statement was released, the official account of the Paraguayan Presidential Palace replied that the information was false and stated that the president’s X account had “abnormal activities, indicating that there might be unauthorized access.” According to the statement, the National Incident Response team CER TPY is working with the staff of the X platform to clarify the situation and has asked citizens to ignore any recent content until officially confirmed.
The Paraguayan government has not yet issued any official decree granting Bitcoin legal tender status, reserving a reserve of 5 million US dollars, or providing bonds to cryptocurrency users. The presidential palace reaffirmed that any genuine policy actions will be conveyed through the established official channels after the investigation is completed. The government has removed the fraudulent statement and said it will provide the latest information on the hacking incident through its verification channels.
This incident has raised new concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in official accounts and highlighted the risk of misinformation in the digital financial ecosystem. At present, Bitcoin is not legal tender in Paraguay, and the government has not announced any official plans to issue Bitcoin bonds or reserves.
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