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The price of Litecoin rose to $237 on September 13, after multiple media outlets falsely reported that Walmart, in partnership with the Litecoin Foundation, would begin accepting the cryptocurrency for sales in its online store.
As soon as the announcement emerged a Walmart spokesperson clarified that the reports were false. Litecoin Foundation Marketing Director Jay Milla told Cointelegraph that “The Litecoin Foundation has yet to enter into a partnership with Walmart.”
Despite the clarification from both Walmart and the Litecoin Foundation, the damage was done and the cryptocurrency experienced a 35% price increase from $170 to over $237.
As soon as investors realized that the news was fake, the price of Litecoin fell as fast as it rose and now its price is hovering around $180.
With a market capitalization of more than $406 billion, Walmart in the past has signaled that it is looking into accepting cryptocurrencies. In August, the retailer announced it had an opening for a digital currencies expert who could map out a strategy for using cryptocurrencies, however, it never said it would begin accepting crypto payments.
Walmart since 2019 has been using blockchain technology to monitor its grocery products. The retail giant uses the Ledger protocol, developed by IBM, to track the life of its produce.
Economist, writer and liberal. With a focus on finance, the war on drugs, history, and geopolitics // Economista, escritor y liberal. Con enfoque en finanzas, guerra contra las drogas, historia y geopolítica