Security News > 2021 > September > Walmart press release hoax causes Litecoin to spike 34%
A fake Walmart press release stating that the retail chain would begin accepting Litecoin caused the cryptocurrency to jump by almost 35% this morning.
The fake Walmart press release [archive] was released this morning at 9:30 AM and included made-up quotes from Walmart's CEO Doug McMillon and Litecoin creator Charlie Lee about the partnership.
"The momentum and excitement around the use of cryptocurrency are undeniable, and we are poised to make online shopping easy for our customers. As a leading eCommerce store, we are committed to bringing innovations to the online shopping experience. By integrating Litecoin, we will enable shoppers to experience a very smooth checkout experience with near instant transaction confirmation, and near-zero fees regardless of where in the world they are," claimed the fake quote from Doug McMillon, Walmart's CEO. As the press release was published on GlobeNewswire, other partners, including Yahoo, syndicated it, giving it much wider attention.
Co/Tn2N7HdfhF was registered last month and doesn't go to any official website.
CNBC reported that Walmart confirmed that the press release was fake.
This caused the price of Litecoin to plummet back to close its original value, with it now trading at ~$178.