Paraguay’s presidency swiftly debunks Bitcoin legal tender hoax, confirms X account hack

The post by president Santiago Peña's X account was potentially the result of a security breach, according to a presidency statement.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

The Paraguayan government made an official statement that President Santiago Peña’s verified X account was hacked and published an unauthorized declaration that Bitcoin (BTC) would be made legal tender on June 9.

The post also included a false plan to establish a Bitcoin treasury and add $5 million in BTC. The compromised account displayed an image titled “”Presidential speech about Bitcoin legalization as legal tender.”

The text, attributed to Peña, 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 has not received any BTC as of press time.

Investigation launched into false post

Minutes after the decree appeared, the official account of the Presidency of the Republic replied, calling the information false. 

It added that the president’s account on X had shown “irregular activity suggesting a potential unauthorized access.” 

According to the statement, the national incident response team, CERTPY, is working with X staff to clarify the situation and asked citizens to disregard any recent content until an official confirmation is released.

The presidency announcement provided no further technical details and did not disclose how the attackers gained access or how long they controlled the account.

No official policy change

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 removed the fraudulent decree and said it would provide updates on the breach through its verified outlets.

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