Walmart is one of the largest retailers in the world, and it has been around for over 60 years. It’s no secret that Walmart is a big fan of capitalism, and they believe in giving their customers the best possible experience. They have been accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment for some time now, but this is a new development. The first time Walmart accepted cryptocurrency was back in 2017. At that time, they were using Bitcoin as their payment method. However, they later changed to Ethereum as their new payment method. They believe that Ethereum is more secure and efficient than Bitcoin because it doesn’t have any third-party involvement. Since then, Walmart has continued to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. This includes both digital and physical currencies. They have even started selling cryptocurrencies on their website! This is a big step forward for Walmart because it shows that they are open to the idea of accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. It’s also worth noting that Walmart isn’t the only retailer who is starting to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Several other large retailers are following suit! This shows that there is growing interest in this type ofpayment system among businesses worldwide.
How Did the Internet Get Tricked?
A fake press release started making the rounds claiming that Walmart would begin accepting the currency as a form of payment. Several publications reported the press release as fact, and it was even posted (and deleted) by the official Litecoin Twitter account.
Because the coin would suddenly be far more useful if a major retailer like Walmart accepted it, the price jumped by an impressive 20%. Unfortunately, the rumor was quickly debunked, leaving many people owning Litecoi at its previous value, as the price fell quickly once word made the round that it wasn’t legitimate.
It was easy enough to figure out that Walmart wasn’t going to take Litecoin. First, the website linked to in the press release didn’t work. Additionally, Walmart didn’t file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which it would do as a publicly traded company. Finally, Walmart never posted its own release, something it would have certainly done if it started taking a new form of payment.
Eventually, Walmart confirmed to CNBC that the press release was fake, which was pretty obvious based on the previously mentioned evidence.
How Did a Litecoin Hoax Change the Price?
A hoax like this can make a massive difference in the price of Litecoin because there’s no regulation on cryptocurrency.
Whether that’s good or bad is up for debate, but it is the wild west out there in terms of crypto, and a fake press release like this can easily alter the price without anyone being able to intervene.
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