Litecoin prices fall after fake announcement of Walmart partnership

Litecoin share prices fell sharply Monday after spiking 30 percent in response to a fake press release announcing a partnership with Walmart, according to CNBC. 

An erroneous press release from Globe Newswire boasted that the partnership would allow Walmart customers “to seamlessly make payments with cryptocurrencies.”

The release, which has since been removed, included a quote supposedly from Walmart CEO Doug McMillon saying: “Starting October 1st, all eCommerce stores will have implemented a ‘Pay with Litecoin Option.'”

A Walmart spokesperson has since confirmed that the release was not authentic, according to CNBC.

Litecoin also said in a statement Monday afternoon that the Litecoin Foundation and Walmart had not entered a partnership of any kind. 

“This is not the case and we have no information as to where this idea or the release to the press originated,” the statement said.

Litecoin’s verified Twitter account also linked to the press release in a tweet that has since been deleted.

Suspicions of the announcement’s authenticity were raised when the email domain listed in the release did not lead to an official website, CNBC reported. 

Updated at 3:21 p.m.