Walmart's move to mandate masks come a day after Best Buy announced a similar measure
Walmart's move to mandate masks come a day after Best Buy announced a similar measure AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM

Walmart has confirmed that a news release that suggested the company will accept the cryptocurrency Litecoin as a form of payment was fraudulent and that the information did not come from them.

GlobeNewswire, a press release distribution service, put out the fake release that referred to a partnership between the two on Monday morning. The release, which quoted Walmart's CEO, referenced a website that did not work and the announcement was never officially posted by the retailer.

USA Today reports the announcement stated Litecoin would be accepted as a form of payment at Walmart starting Oct. 1.

Litecoin had tweeted out the announcement on its Twitter account as well. The tweet and the news release are now deleted.

Randy Hargrove, a Walmart spokesman, told CNBC that the post was not authentic. Hargrove stated that Walmart is investigating with the newswire provider to figure out how the press release got out.

Litecoin surged briefly after the release announcing the fake partnership but quickly saw a fall following the confirmation that it was not real.