Litecoin price jumped 20 percent after hoax linked the cryptocurrency to Walmart

The Litecoin cryptocurrency saw its price spike by as much as 20 percent on Monday after a fake press release claimed Walmart would begin accepting Litecoin as payment.

The press release posted to GlobeNewswire linked to a non-functioning website, and there was no evidence of any Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which would have been expected since Walmart is publicly traded. Walmart’s official newsroom never included the release, and the company typically uses Business Wire to distribute releases.

Dave Pleiss, vice president, investor and public relations for GlobeNewswire said in an email to The Verge that this has never happened to the company before.

“When GlobeNewswire became aware this morning that a fraudulent user...

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