In less than 15 minutes after the release of a fictitious announcement, the cryptocurrency increased by more than 4.6 percent. It went from $602.63 at around 11:30 UTC to $630.70 at around 12:45 UTC.
Bitcoin cash (BCH) experienced a significant but brief increase in value on Friday following the distribution of a bogus news release. It was saying that U.S. retail giant Kroger would accept cryptocurrency as payment during the holiday shopping season.
Bitcoin Cash Lost its Gains
Following the posting of the fake notification, bitcoin’s value increased by more than 4.6 percent. It went up from $602.63 at roughly 11:30 UTC to $630.70 less than 15 minutes later. Following the announcement, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) lost back all of its gains, falling below the price it had been previous to the statement. At the time of writing, it was available for purchase for $601.74.
The claim was in the bogus release, issued on PR Newswire and posted on the Kroger website, that the supermarket chain would begin accepting Bitcoin Cash (BCH) for all in-store and online purchases on December 1. As of 11:49 a.m. (UTC). A company official verified to CoinDesk that the release had been fake. At the time of publication, the news release withdrew from the company’s website.
This morning, a press release purporting to be from The Kroger Co. produced an error. Specifically, it was falsely suggesting that the firm would accept bitcoin currency shortly. According to a representative, this communication was fake, unsubstantiated, and should be dismissed due to this.
Because Kroger’s website pulls in press releases from PR Newswire, the bogus release appeared on Kroger.com for a short period before taking it down. Kroger has a connection to Bitcoin but does not accept it as a form of payment at this time. Users of the Lolli rewards program were able to earn modest amounts of Bitcoin back on their purchases thanks to a collaboration launched late last year with the company.
Network’s Sudden Increase
Coinbase reveals that the price of Bitcoin Cash increased by about 5 percent in less than 15 minutes. It was rising from roughly $602 to $630, which was most likely the intended result of the fake. Even though it recovered to its average level nearly soon, it is possible that whoever scammed made a profit.
A disputed chain split resulted in the creation of Bitcoin Cash, which was a hard fork from Bitcoin in 2017. Bitcoin Cash’s proponents believe that bitcoin has failed to solve high transfer fees and block size constraints. They forced Coinbase to cease trading for some time following allegations of insider trading.
Moreover, the value of Bitcoin Cash did not keep pace with the tremendous increases in the value of Bitcoin in the years since. This scam is identical to the one in September, in which a false report that Walmart would begin accepting Litecoin.
According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin cash is the world’s 21st most significant cryptocurrency by market capitalization at the time of writing. Bitcoin cash’s creation was due to a hard fork on the Bitcoin network in 2017.
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