Following false allegations from major news agencies that U.S. giant Walmart will be offering a payment option for the cryptocurrency on all of its eCommerce websites, the price of Litecoin soared to more than $237 this morning.
According to CNBC, a Walmart spokesperson confirmed a press release on Litecoin was “not authentic” roughly an hour after the initial report broke.
Walmart planned to offer a “Pay with Litecoin Option” for its retail websites starting on Oct. 1 as part of a relationship with the Litecoin Foundation, the organization financing and encouraging adoption of the Litecoin (LTC) ecosystem, according to CNBC, Reuters, Decrypt, and others on Monday.
The reports appeared to be the result of a single news release distributed by GlobeNewsWire. Walmart picked LTC for payments because of its “cheaper and speedier” qualities and the token’s “no central authority,” according to the press release.
A Walmart official, according to CNBC, verified the press release was “not legitimate” about an hour after the initial report surfaced.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the price of LTC jumped more than 35% soon after the phony news was published, from $175 to a monthly high of more than $237, before plummeting. The price of Litecoin is $182 at the time of posting.
Walmart, which has a market capitalization of more than $406 billion, has previously stated that it is interested in cryptocurrencies.
The company advertised a job for an expert who could design a digital currency strategy and product roadmap in August but did not specify that it would be launching a crypto payment channel.
In addition, Walmart has been using blockchain technology for supply chain management, customer marketplaces, and smart appliances since 2016.
