Paraguay President Santiago Peña’s personal X account was hacked in a social engineering scam. The attackers used the platform to spread a false announcement claiming Bitcoin had been declared legal tender in the country. The official presidency of Paraguay responded quickly, debunking the misinformation and warning citizens to avoid the fraudulent message.

Hackers Use President’s X Account to Promote Bitcoin Scam

The compromised X account published a message stating that Bitcoin had been made legal tender in Paraguay. It also claimed that the government had created a $5 million Bitcoin reserve and launched a national bond program accessible to crypto-enabled users. The post urged users to send any amount of BTC to a wallet address provided in the post.

Onchain data showed that the wallet mentioned in the hacked message held only $4. No transactions had been recorded at the time of the report. This indicates the scam did not gain traction before the fraudulent post was taken down.

In a follow-up post, the official X account of the Presidency of Paraguay confirmed the breach. It described the message as false and shared an official statement. The message in Spanish read, “Información falsa. Comunicado oficial de la presidencia de la República del Paraguay.”

Official Response Confirms Bitcoin Is Not Legal Tender

The office of the President took immediate steps to contain the damage. They issued an official communication to disprove the false Bitcoin declaration. The presidency advised followers to disregard the post on the president’s personal X account.

In addition, the hacker reportedly restricted replies from the official government account on the fraudulent post. This was likely an effort to prevent users from seeing the real-time correction and to maintain the scam’s appearance of authenticity.

There has been no official announcement regarding any policy change involving Bitcoin in Paraguay. The Central Bank of Paraguay and other regulatory agencies have not recognized Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Market Reacts Briefly to Fake Bitcoin Announcement

The post temporarily affected Bitcoin price sentiment. Following the fake announcement, the price of Bitcoin briefly touched $109,000 on some trading platforms. However, it later dropped and was trading around $108,400 at the time of writing.

Market analysts suggest the sudden price spike may have been influenced by automated trading bots responding to keywords in the post. The quick reversal shows that the market corrected the misinformation once the truth became known.

Such incidents reflect the crypto market’s sensitivity to social media-driven headlines. Fake news can trigger sharp but short-lived moves, especially when linked to high-profile figures or countries.

Security Concerns Rise Over Social Media Scams

This event raises fresh concerns about the vulnerability of official accounts to cyberattacks. It also highlights the risks of misinformation in the digital finance ecosystem. Even national leaders’ accounts are not immune to such threats.

Authorities have not yet identified the hackers responsible for the breach. Investigations may be underway to track the digital footprint of the attackers and prevent similar scams.

Users are advised to verify information through official government websites and reputable news sources. Crypto investors should remain cautious of schemes involving wallet addresses and promises of government-backed returns. This breach underlines the need for two-factor authentication and tighter access controls on high-profile accounts.