On June 9, 2025, the Paraguayan government officially stated that President Santiago Peña’s verified X account was hacked, and an unauthorized post was published on it. The post claimed that Bitcoin would be made legal tender in Paraguay, and it also included a false plan to establish a Bitcoin treasury with $5 million in BTC.
The text attributed to Peña in the post claimed that a new law “formally recognizes Bitcoin as legal tender” and pledged a government BTC reserve valued at $5 million, held in the national treasury. It also promised bond issues restricted to “crypto – enabled” citizens and urged readers to contact treasury staff. A caption posted with the image in English repeated the legal – tender claim and stated that “President Peña confirms $5m BTC reserve + bond access for crypto – enabled citizens,” and encouraged investors to “secure your stake in Bitcoin now”. The message included a Bitcoin address, which had not received any BTC as of press time.
Minutes after the decree appeared, the official account of the presidency of the republic replied, calling the information false and stating that the president’s account on X had shown “irregular activity suggesting a potential unauthorized access”. The national incident response team, CERT – PY, is working with X staff to clarify the situation. The government has asked citizens to disregard any recent content from the president’s X account until an official confirmation is released.
Paraguay’s government has issued no official decree that grants Bitcoin legal tender status, sets aside a $5 million reserve, or offers bonds to cryptocurrency users. The presidency reiterated that it will communicate any genuine policy actions through established official channels once the investigation concludes. The government has removed the fraudulent decree and said it would provide updates on the breach through its verified outlets.
This is not the first time that high – profile X accounts have been hacked. Cybercriminals often target such accounts to spread false announcements, aiming to deceive investors into sending their digital coins to a crypto address by promising huge returns. In the past, there have been cases where hackers took over the X accounts of many well – known figures and institutions for Bitcoin – related scams.
Although Paraguay has a reputation for being Bitcoin – friendly, with crypto – mining operations opening there and the president previously expressing the desire to make the country a tech hub, it has not made any official announcements about making Bitcoin legal tender or establishing a Bitcoin reserve until now. El Salvador is the only country in the region that has made Bitcoin legal tender, and its government also buys the cryptocurrency for its coffers, despite opposition from the International Monetary Fund.
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