For many it was their first exposure to crypto and I imagine the majority kept their coins on there.
The majority of morons, maybe. The red flags were there months before Gox imploded, months before they stopped allowing BTC withdrawals. 
Topic: Bitcoin transaction volume dropping - page 2. (Read 2261 times)
Probably GOX. Think how many people must have said "fuck this" after that. For many it was their first exposure to crypto and I imagine the majority kept their coins on there
Isn't this an issue though, because people assume that the BTC transactions will pick up to make mining worth it when the reward halves. But if it doesn't pick up then 2016 is going to be a BIG problem for miners.
People were still mining when BTC was going at $70.... So I don't think that prices will be having any impact on the Bitcoin mining. By 2016, we might be seeing 10 times more people engaged in Bitcoin mining compared to the numbers right now.
Buyers are waiting for the price to go down, sellers are waiting for the price to go up. Some people are losing faith, some people are gaining hope 
I guess more people are holding there BTC and thinks that could make it higher in value before they will sell their coins.
Yep and then when they see it rising they dont want to sell them because why would you.
This happens with all investments it goes down you tell yourself your content with breaking even so say your goign to sell when it reaches the price you paid but it has to rise to get near that price. When it rises, you get more confident, as does the market and when you get close to your price you dont sell.
Rinse and repeat.
I guess more people are holding there BTC and thinks that could make it higher in value before they will sell their coins.
Isn't this an issue though, because people assume that the BTC transactions will pick up to make mining worth it when the reward halves. But if it doesn't pick up then 2016 is going to be a BIG problem for miners.
What uncertainty about China? Chinese attitude towards BTC has been known for months and I really do not see how markets can react to anything else but China banning BTC which is not going to happen. The rest is pure speculation.
Please share with me what is going to happen for certain in China?
Then once you've used your crystal ball to tell me exactly whats going to happen next explain to me how the market would not react to one or more of the major Chinese exchanges stopping trading for example?
Unless there is fiat chasing after bitcoin, this will be the trend. Lots of VC going into businesses...but not bitcoin itself.
What does this mean? Do people hold and wait for better price or is BTC simply losing momentum?
People who are holding BTC does not want to sell them at these prices... Some of them might have bought those coins at $1,000+ and don't want to sell at loss. On the other hand, there is a lack of demand from the buyers, as they are hoping that the exchange rate will go down further.
What uncertainty about China? Chinese attitude towards BTC has been known for months and I really do not see how markets can react to anything else but China banning BTC which is not going to happen. The rest is pure speculation.
Yesterday the transaction volume dropped to the lowest number since 2011 with only 69,152 BTC traded. In comparison, during peak periods, the volume was between 350,000 and 450,000 BTC traded. What does this mean? Do people hold and wait for better price or is BTC simply losing momentum?
Dont forget when you talk about it in BTC volume its not a good comparison. BTC is orders of magnitude more expensive now so you should compare $ volume numbers.
But in answer to your question less traded volume just means that sellers aren't selling and buyers aren't buying, I suspect the uncertainty out of China is a major factor in people just waiting on the sidelines.
I half suspect that the price has been kept in an artificially narrow channel, I have my theories as to how, but they are just speculation. Traders will be awaiting a breakout.
Yesterday the transaction volume dropped to the lowest number since 2011 with only 69,152 BTC traded. In comparison, during peak periods, the volume was between 350,000 and 450,000 BTC traded. What does this mean? Do people hold and wait for better price or is BTC simply losing momentum?
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