Market News

Bitcoin Scandal in Paraguay: President’s Account Hacked to Promote Fraudulent Scheme

The Paraguayan government has confirmed that President Santiago Peña’s X account was hacked to disseminate false information about Bitcoin.

On June 9, a post from the hacked account claimed that Paraguay had adopted Bitcoin as legal tender and established a $5 million reserve.

The government quickly refuted these claims, stating that there were no intentions to implement such measures at this time.

Currently, Paraguayan lawmakers are focused on regulating crypto mining and exchanges to improve tax collection, rather than adopting Bitcoin as legal tender.

In a twist of events, the false announcement led to a surge in Bitcoin prices, which rose over 2% to a local high of $108,702.

This price jump triggered significant liquidation in the market, totaling over $222 million within 24 hours.

Additionally, Bitcoin’s futures Open Interest increased from $71 billion to $77 billion, as traders rushed to capitalize on the momentum.

Interestingly, this incident reflects a growing trend where cybercriminals exploit high-profile accounts to promote cryptocurrency scams.

Despite the turmoil, Paraguay has shown potential for becoming a Bitcoin-friendly nation, due to its advantageous mining conditions.

However, the government remains cautious and has not pursued any measures to officially integrate Bitcoin into its monetary system.