No, Walmart didn't announce plans to accept cryptocurrency

• GlobeNewswire posted a release that said Walmart will allow shoppers to pay using crypto, but it was fake.
• Walmart posted a job application for a $4 to lead its digital currency strategy in August.
• Major corporations like $4 have recently begun to accept it as a form of payment.

GlobeNewswire on Monday published a press release claiming Walmart would allow shoppers to pay using cryptocurrency - but it turned out to be a fake.

The $4 claimed all of Walmart's e-commerce stores would include a "pay with litecoin" option beginning October 1, before it was $4 a few hours later.

Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove told $4 the release was "not authentic," but some news outlets, including $4 and $4 had already published articles citing the doctored press release. Both sites later removed the false information and issued corrections.

Walmart signaled interest in crypto earlier this year when posting a job application for a $4 to lead its digital currency strategy. Major corporations like $4 have recently begun to accept it as a form of payment.

Litecoin, designed by former Google engineer Charlie Lee, is an alternative to the cryptocurrency bitcoin. The digital currency is among the top 10 cryptos, per $4, and has a market capitalization of $15.2 billion. Its price surged more than 30% following the fake announcement, before erasing most of the gains.

GlobeNewswire and Walmart were not immediately available for comment.