OTTAWA — Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet has denounced cryptocurrency as a “subversion of the rule of law” after his X account was hacked twice and used to promote apparent investment scams.Blanchet cautiously returned to his personal account Friday after regaining control of the page.“With prudence and circumspection, I am making a post on my restored and recovered personal page,” Blanchet wrote in French.“We will know over the next few hours and days whether the account has been properly secured.”Blanchet then distanced himself from the cryptocurrency promotions posted under his name, offering a sweeping condemnation of digital currencies.“I am obviously and absolutely not a promoter of cryptocurrencies, which are a subversion of the rule of law,” he wrote..His original description — “un détournement de l’État de droit” — can also be translated as a circumvention or hijacking of the rule of law.The comments followed two apparent breaches of Blanchet’s account within the span of several days.Two fraudulent posts promoting cryptocurrency investments appeared on the account Wednesday, with the messages making it appear that Blanchet had earned thousands of dollars through digital currencies.One post listed an investment return in euros while an accompanying image displayed the amount in Canadian dollars. Another referred to Blanchet using feminine wording.The Bloc confirmed Wednesday that its leader’s account had been compromised and warned the public not to follow any cryptocurrency links posted from the page.“We urge the public not to click on any links in publications related to cryptocurrency and any other new links until further notice from the Bloc Québécois,” Blanchet’s press secretary, Joanie Riopel, said at the time.A similar cryptocurrency promotion had appeared on the account several days earlier before Blanchet’s staff had it removed.The Bloc said it was seeking assistance from X to regain control of the account and resolve the security problem.Blanchet’s Friday post indicated access had been restored, although the Bloc leader said it remained unclear whether the account had been fully secured.
