Paraguay president's X account appears compromised with claim country makes Bitcoin legal tender

It appears that the President of Paraguay's X account has been compromised to post a scam Bitcoin harvesting scheme, according to a suspicious message on Monday. Minutes after the post went live, Reuters reported that President Santiago Peña’s account "presented irregular activity."

Peña’s initial message announced unexpectedly that the country had made "Bitcoin legal tender," making it the second Latin American country to adopt the token as an official form of currency. His message also erroneously alluded to a "$5 million BTC reserve" and bond program for "crypto-enabled citizens."

The message quickly raised eyebrows among crypto industry observers, who are attuned to many hallmarks of a spoofed message and attempted scam. Notably, Peña’s X post linked to a little-used Bitcoin address, which held only $4 worth of BTC at press time. The post was also one of Peña’s only messages written in English, rather than Spanish.

Bloomberg also jumped on the alleged news, pushing out a headline confirming Peña’s announcement, legitimizing the apparent scam.

It is not uncommon for hackers to gain access to social media accounts belonging to celebrities and politicians in an attempt to steal from unsuspecting followers. In 2020, for instance, hackers compromised dozens of high-profile accounts — including those of Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Kanye West, and companies like Apple and Uber — to steal tens of thousands of dollars worth of crypto.

Paraguay politicians have been drafting legislation to supervise and support a nascent crypto industry, including by strengthening a relationship with El Salvador , the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Paraguay is an emerging hub for Bitcoin miners.