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Topic: Coinbase buy price is pegged to Bitstamp (Read 4985 times)

sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
It's Money 2.0| It’s gold for nerds | It's Bitcoin
June 14, 2014, 06:11:08 PM
#44
Quck update: Coinbase no longer seems tied to Bitstamp, at least not this very moment.  Both the buy and sell prices are above Bitstamp's.  They're either making a hard buy themselves, or are tracking to another system.  Any ideas?

Will try to back my findings up with new charts, soon.

I just started to notice this the other day as well. I figured since they were a BTC/USD exchange they would just establish a market rate themselves.  The only thing I don't like about coinbase is you can't put in reserve buy/sell orders at a given market price. Meh, other than that I like coinbase a lot, very stable and reliable.



They likely use a number of exchanges and probably keep some for their own investment without even using an exchange at all.

For example if one person wants to buy one bitcoin they can sell it to them for $600 (they would already own it). Then if someone wanted to sell a bitcoin they could buy it from them for $589 to replenish their supply. Then they can adjust their prices based on a number of exchanges and based on how much people are buying and selling.
member
Activity: 104
Merit: 10
This is not surprising.

Do you have a negative consequence to this?

Coinbase provides a valuable service to many (including newer) BTC users. They should be compensated for this service (buying/selling BTC). 
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
I built a trading platform for Coinbase using in part the data I've collected so far. You can log into my platform here: https://daybittrader.com/login/coinbase/ (Requires a Coinbase account). I'm looking for early adopters only, no big announcement yet.
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 26, 2014, 02:41:07 PM
#41

I just started to notice this the other day as well. I figured since they were a BTC/USD exchange they would just establish a market rate themselves.  The only thing I don't like about coinbase is you can't put in reserve buy/sell orders at a given market price. Meh, other than that I like coinbase a lot, very stable and reliable.

I've developed my own tool that does buy/sell/stop loss orders through Coinbase, it works completely for me so far, but is only prepared for small scale deployment.  Anyone want to help me beta test it?
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1057
SpacePirate.io
February 26, 2014, 02:21:00 PM
#40
Quck update: Coinbase no longer seems tied to Bitstamp, at least not this very moment.  Both the buy and sell prices are above Bitstamp's.  They're either making a hard buy themselves, or are tracking to another system.  Any ideas?

Will try to back my findings up with new charts, soon.

I just started to notice this the other day as well. I figured since they were a BTC/USD exchange they would just establish a market rate themselves.  The only thing I don't like about coinbase is you can't put in reserve buy/sell orders at a given market price. Meh, other than that I like coinbase a lot, very stable and reliable.

legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1001
This is the land of wolves now & you're not a wolf
February 26, 2014, 01:18:48 PM
#39
The prices might be derived from the exchanges but do we really know how many of those coins end up on the exchanges?   I'd imagine they'd keep some off the exchanges and just transfer BTC between the wallets of their own members to save on fees.
Agreed, I think it would be crazy if they didn't keep at least some coins

But how though?  Every purchase you get your own address that you can receive coins to for a transfer in.  But they do claim 90% of all coins held offline.

They keep some in hot wallets for instant buys and transfers, and the remainder is kept in cold storage.  This is why it takes some time if you make a big withdrawal... i.e. like maybe 20 BTC or more
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 26, 2014, 11:55:33 AM
#38
I updated my charts, cutting MtGox out of the equation completely for now.  And, I made a new chart, comparing the sell price on Coinbase with the bid price on Bitstamp.  My theory is that Coinbase is doing a heavy buy themselves at today's prices, but they began buying less aggressively about 12 hours ago, when as you can see the spread between the two tightened somewhat.

All times in UTC:
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 25, 2014, 03:07:11 PM
#37
Quck update: Coinbase no longer seems tied to Bitstamp, at least not this very moment.  Both the buy and sell prices are above Bitstamp's.  They're either making a hard buy themselves, or are tracking to another system.  Any ideas?

Will try to back my findings up with new charts, soon.
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1001
This is the land of wolves now & you're not a wolf
February 19, 2014, 03:33:21 PM
#36
Coinbase withdraws to blockchain.info seem to be taking longer than they used to.  When I first started it would almost immediately show up as an unconfirmed transaction over on the blockchain side, but lately it seems to take longer.   I am assuming this is because of the amount of withdrawals they are processing are probably 20 times what they used to be, but I'm not sure...

I'm not complaining at all, but if you are trying to physically purchase something from someone, or accept a payment in person for some sort of goods that you are selling, you will be standing around waiting longer than you used to have to...
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 19, 2014, 09:58:14 AM
#35
BTC and Stamp small arb, but you would need very high volume to combat the fees.
Yeah, I've thought of pitching that idea to an investor before, but I think it will be viewed as too risky in today's climate.
hero member
Activity: 994
Merit: 501
February 19, 2014, 08:28:11 AM
#34
Although coinbase says that they draw their value off a number of exchanges and algorithms, it seems pretty apparent that it is pegged to bitstamp.   When there is a large differential in the bitstamp and coinbase price, I think they are just executing buy and sell orders in between coinbase users...

I rather think there are various highrollers who arb between coinbase & bitstamp

You think they are withdrawing via coinbase or withdrawing from bitstamp.   Obviously if you are doing that, you have to take into consideration the fees over at coinbase, (bitstamp too if they have withdraw fees).   I haven't used bitstamp directly.  Although the fees are relatively small, it definitely cuts into the margins if you are just trying to capitalize between the price differential between the two...

you are right about the fees... but my point was rather that I think the reason for the price difference being so low is the arbitrage.
let´s assume the spread between coinbase and bitstamp grows to 30 $.

there is an arbitrage opportunity, someone buys at the lower price (e.g. bitstamp), withdraws the BTC, transfers them to coinbase and
exchange it for fiat.

And because of this going on arbitrage it looks like the coinbase price is pegged to bitstamp.

in one sentence -> if the difference gets larger than amount "x", people abuse this arbitrage opportunity and the price difference disappears Wink



Coinbase/Bitstamp spread will never reach $30.  Well maybe when Bitcoin goes to $100k. Wink  But Coinbase is a middle man, a broker, not an exchange.  They use Bitstamp to purchase coins and collect a small spread between the bid/ask.  No arbitrage there.  BTC and Stamp small arb, but you would need very high volume to combat the fees.
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 19, 2014, 08:15:05 AM
#33
Arbitrage IS what stabilizes prices.
Between exchanges maybe.  But Coinbase isn't an exchange, it's more like a broker.
legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1060
February 19, 2014, 12:40:50 AM
#32
.
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 18, 2014, 02:06:12 PM
#31

you are right about the fees... but my point was rather that I think the reason for the price difference being so low is the arbitrage.
let´s assume the spread between coinbase and bitstamp grows to 30 $.

there is an arbitrage opportunity, someone buys at the lower price (e.g. bitstamp), withdraws the BTC, transfers them to coinbase and
exchange it for fiat.

And because of this going on arbitrage it looks like the coinbase price is pegged to bitstamp.

in one sentence -> if the difference gets larger than amount "x", people abuse this arbitrage opportunity and the price difference disappears Wink

It wouldn't make sense to design a system that is 100% reliant on people doing trades manually.  This is the age of machine learning and REST API's.  The computers can learn more quickly about other systems faster than a collective group of people, at least for the most low level data.  And, Coinbase's sell price is pegged to below Bitstamp's, it just doesn't show in these charts.
member
Activity: 70
Merit: 10
February 18, 2014, 12:49:03 PM
#30
Although coinbase says that they draw their value off a number of exchanges and algorithms, it seems pretty apparent that it is pegged to bitstamp.   When there is a large differential in the bitstamp and coinbase price, I think they are just executing buy and sell orders in between coinbase users...

I rather think there are various highrollers who arb between coinbase & bitstamp

You think they are withdrawing via coinbase or withdrawing from bitstamp.   Obviously if you are doing that, you have to take into consideration the fees over at coinbase, (bitstamp too if they have withdraw fees).   I haven't used bitstamp directly.  Although the fees are relatively small, it definitely cuts into the margins if you are just trying to capitalize between the price differential between the two...

you are right about the fees... but my point was rather that I think the reason for the price difference being so low is the arbitrage.
let´s assume the spread between coinbase and bitstamp grows to 30 $.

there is an arbitrage opportunity, someone buys at the lower price (e.g. bitstamp), withdraws the BTC, transfers them to coinbase and
exchange it for fiat.

And because of this going on arbitrage it looks like the coinbase price is pegged to bitstamp.

in one sentence -> if the difference gets larger than amount "x", people abuse this arbitrage opportunity and the price difference disappears Wink

legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1001
This is the land of wolves now & you're not a wolf
February 18, 2014, 12:33:50 PM
#29
Although coinbase says that they draw their value off a number of exchanges and algorithms, it seems pretty apparent that it is pegged to bitstamp.   When there is a large differential in the bitstamp and coinbase price, I think they are just executing buy and sell orders in between coinbase users...

I rather think there are various highrollers who arb between coinbase & bitstamp

You think they are withdrawing via coinbase or withdrawing from bitstamp.   Obviously if you are doing that, you have to take into consideration the fees over at coinbase, (bitstamp too if they have withdraw fees).   I haven't used bitstamp directly.  Although the fees are relatively small, it definitely cuts into the margins if you are just trying to capitalize between the price differential between the two...
member
Activity: 70
Merit: 10
February 18, 2014, 12:19:21 PM
#28
Although coinbase says that they draw their value off a number of exchanges and algorithms, it seems pretty apparent that it is pegged to bitstamp.   When there is a large differential in the bitstamp and coinbase price, I think they are just executing buy and sell orders in between coinbase users...

I rather think there are various highrollers who arb between coinbase & bitstamp
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 18, 2014, 12:17:20 PM
#27
Although coinbase says that they draw their value off a number of exchanges and algorithms, it seems pretty apparent that it is pegged to bitstamp.   When there is a large differential in the bitstamp and coinbase price, I think they are just executing buy and sell orders in between coinbase users...
Could be.  I hadn't really thought of it that way, but it could be possible.  In my observation it doesn't fluctuate very much, and I've been able to predict many short-term Coinbase price fluctuations within a certain margin of error, without polling Coinbase, by streaming live trades from the Bitstamp servers.
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1001
This is the land of wolves now & you're not a wolf
February 18, 2014, 12:10:07 PM
#26
Although coinbase says that they draw their value off a number of exchanges and algorithms, it seems pretty apparent that it is pegged to bitstamp.   When there is a large differential in the bitstamp and coinbase price, I think they are just executing buy and sell orders in between coinbase users...
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
February 18, 2014, 09:39:19 AM
#25
I think recent events have definitely shored things up for Bitstamp, and all the data shows that my original assumption was more or less correct.

If anyone's interested, I made some of the numbers a little easier to read, and made the whole thing much faster.  The faster loading charts will make it much easier to visit.

Here's some recent data from the current market trend:
hero member
Activity: 994
Merit: 501
January 11, 2014, 07:16:46 PM
#24
The prices might be derived from the exchanges but do we really know how many of those coins end up on the exchanges?   I'd imagine they'd keep some off the exchanges and just transfer BTC between the wallets of their own members to save on fees.
Agreed, I think it would be crazy if they didn't keep at least some coins

But how though?  Every purchase you get your own address that you can receive coins to for a transfer in.  But they do claim 90% of all coins held offline.
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
January 11, 2014, 06:53:32 PM
#23
The prices might be derived from the exchanges but do we really know how many of those coins end up on the exchanges?   I'd imagine they'd keep some off the exchanges and just transfer BTC between the wallets of their own members to save on fees.
Agreed, I think it would be crazy if they didn't keep at least some coins
newbie
Activity: 18
Merit: 0
January 11, 2014, 06:32:51 PM
#22
I thought it was a known thing that Coinbase uses Bitstamp as their backend (but on a quick search I didn't find proof of it). They aren't an actual exchange AFAIK. You act surprised, though?
No, not surprised, though I didn't know much about Bitstamp other than being a inactive member there when I started researching this a few months ago.  It looks like Coinbase relies on them a lot.  If you watch the line you'll see a gap opens or tightens when the market changes.  The Coinbase price rises when the market is in rapid expansion, though it still seems to be relatively pegged to Bitstamp.

They are hedging, and keeping the spread between the bid/ask. Standard procedure at forex desks (Coinbase has former forex desk people of course). You can sell yours at coinbase at 800 and they will lay them off on bitstamp at say 805 and they pocket 5 bucks, every trade or whatever the spread happens to be.

I haven't researched the sell price yet, so I don't know if they're generally selling on MtGox or Bitstamp.  I'll probably start collecting that data soon if anyone is interested.


The prices might be derived from the exchanges but do we really know how many of those coins end up on the exchanges?   I'd imagine they'd keep some off the exchanges and just transfer BTC between the wallets of their own members to save on fees.
hero member
Activity: 994
Merit: 501
January 11, 2014, 04:59:48 PM
#21
Right. This shows that Coinbase is doing exactly what they should be doing. Coinbase is a dealer; that is, they make a market and buy and sell as a principal. They're not an exchange, which just matches orders (or should; one wonders about some of the Bitcoin exchanges.) Coinbase takes in little Bitcoin payments, shortly thereafter sells in bulk on an exchange, and sends money to the business customers of their payment service. For this they charge a reasonable spread, under 0.5%. They have to pay Bitstamp's commission of 0.2% out of that. They also tack on a 1% fee to merchants after the first $1M in transactions, but they're probably making most of their money on the spread. Merchants get paid daily.

That's a reasonable, although not highly profitable, business. 

It's not super profitable correct per trade, but the trades add up for sure.  Plus the overhead for Coinbase is fairly small.  With $700k customers, assuming all or most of them have made at least one trade, I think there's a really good reason VC firms are lining up to give them money.
legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1060
January 11, 2014, 03:49:13 AM
#20
.
legendary
Activity: 1204
Merit: 1002
January 11, 2014, 03:39:52 AM
#19
Right. This shows that Coinbase is doing exactly what they should be doing. Coinbase is a dealer; that is, they make a market and buy and sell as a principal. They're not an exchange, which just matches orders (or should; one wonders about some of the Bitcoin exchanges.) Coinbase takes in little Bitcoin payments, shortly thereafter sells in bulk on an exchange, and sends money to the business customers of their payment service. For this they charge a reasonable spread, under 0.5%. They have to pay Bitstamp's commission of 0.2% out of that. They also tack on a 1% fee to merchants after the first $1M in transactions, but they're probably making most of their money on the spread. Merchants get paid daily.

That's a reasonable, although not highly profitable, business. 
hero member
Activity: 994
Merit: 501
January 10, 2014, 10:02:57 PM
#18
I've been researching this for a while, and have noticed that 95% of the time, Coinbase's price is pegged to Bitstamp.  It is especially tight when the market is in decline, and opens up somewhat (not so tightly pegged), when the market is rising rapidly, such as when it was headed for the 1200 mark recently.

I have some charts that show this effect: https://daybittrader.com/ (scroll to the bottom)

You can see there is only a loose relation when compared to Mtgox, but Bitstamp tracks almost every little change.  Has anyone else researched this or noticed this effect?

I have a few months of data if any serious people would like to do research.  I don't want to dump it to the whole world, but you can PM me if you're curious.


Enough data on the page to remove all doubt.




They are hedging, and keeping the spread between the bid/ask. Standard procedure at forex desks (Coinbase has former forex desk people of course). You can sell yours at coinbase at 800 and they will lay them off on bitstamp at say 805 and they pocket 5 bucks, every trade or whatever the spread happens to be.

Since coinbase has the instant conversion option for merchants they pretty much have to do it that way to avert the risk, just basic dynamic hedging. Good to know though, thanks.

I thought this was fairly well know also.  You can almost always buy slightly cheaper than Bitstamp than Coinbase.  But for a US customer, the ease of using a bank transfer and instant buying outweigh the few dollars if you're buying for the long run.
legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1060
January 10, 2014, 06:39:25 PM
#17
.
member
Activity: 88
Merit: 10
"Fly you fools"
January 10, 2014, 05:55:32 PM
#16
I do believe they do have some trading desk behavior and heard orders cancelled when they predicted wrong. That would be fine if they didnt charge a fee. Otherwise it's shady as any scummy forex broker.

I don't doubt that coinbase cancels orders once in a while but a 1% fee isn't bad at all. Especially when your first $1 million in transactions is free.

http://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1277919-what-fees-does-coinbase-charge-for-merchant-processing-
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1001
This is the land of wolves now & you're not a wolf
January 10, 2014, 10:40:55 AM
#15
I've been researching this for a while, and have noticed that 95% of the time, Coinbase's price is pegged to Bitstamp.  It is especially tight when the market is in decline, and opens up somewhat (not so tightly pegged), when the market is rising rapidly, such as when it was headed for the 1200 mark recently.

I have some charts that show this effect: https://daybittrader.com/ (scroll to the bottom)

You can see there is only a loose relation when compared to Mtgox, but Bitstamp tracks almost every little change.  Has anyone else researched this or noticed this effect?

I have a few months of data if any serious people would like to do research.  I don't want to dump it to the whole world, but you can PM me if you're curious.


Enough data on the page to remove all doubt.




They are hedging, and keeping the spread between the bid/ask. Standard procedure at forex desks (Coinbase has former forex desk people of course). You can sell yours at coinbase at 800 and they will lay them off on bitstamp at say 805 and they pocket 5 bucks, every trade or whatever the spread happens to be.

Since coinbase has the instant conversion option for merchants they pretty much have to do it that way to avert the risk, just basic dynamic hedging. Good to know though, thanks.

^
This post is spot on
sr. member
Activity: 378
Merit: 255
January 10, 2014, 10:36:58 AM
#14
I do believe they do have some trading desk behavior and heard orders cancelled when they predicted wrong. That would be fine if they didnt charge a fee. Otherwise it's shady as any scummy forex broker.

I have heard very little about canceled orders.  And when I heard it, they were down that day so it may have been for another reason.
legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1060
January 09, 2014, 12:05:13 AM
#13
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member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
January 07, 2014, 07:10:25 PM
#12
Check out the charts when the market is going down.  This is pretty typical:
sr. member
Activity: 378
Merit: 255
January 02, 2014, 06:08:15 PM
#11
Coinbase is very easy.  That's why I recommend it in my signature.
hero member
Activity: 520
Merit: 500
January 02, 2014, 02:04:55 PM
#10
Totally agree. When they first came online, they were tracking Mt Gox, but that changed after they stopped allowing US folks to withdrawal without paying high fees. Anyone have any idea what the volume is at coinbase? They are easily the least risky way for people in the US to buy/sell smaller amounts of bitcoins.
member
Activity: 182
Merit: 10
January 01, 2014, 03:50:48 PM
#9
I've been researching this for a while, and have noticed that 95% of the time, Coinbase's price is pegged to Bitstamp.  It is especially tight when the market is in decline, and opens up somewhat (not so tightly pegged), when the market is rising rapidly, such as when it was headed for the 1200 mark recently.

I have some charts that show this effect: https://daybittrader.com/ (scroll to the bottom)

You can see there is only a loose relation when compared to Mtgox, but Bitstamp tracks almost every little change.  Has anyone else researched this or noticed this effect?

I have a few months of data if any serious people would like to do research.  I don't want to dump it to the whole world, but you can PM me if you're curious.


Enough data on the page to remove all doubt.




They are hedging, and keeping the spread between the bid/ask. Standard procedure at forex desks (Coinbase has former forex desk people of course). You can sell yours at coinbase at 800 and they will lay them off on bitstamp at say 805 and they pocket 5 bucks, every trade or whatever the spread happens to be.

Since coinbase has the instant conversion option for merchants they pretty much have to do it that way to avert the risk, just basic dynamic hedging. Good to know though, thanks.

Really good chart!


I ripped it from _wayfarer_'s OP link, not my work just to be clear.

I've been looking over coinbase the last couple days trying to get my brain around their model, as they are thus far my favorite btc operation for a lot of reasons (among the top of the list, they have faces and names and a physical address, and pictures even). They have to mitigate risk of price movement pretty much continually because they are guaranteeing fixed local currency and instant conversion. They can't do that without either really deep pockets (if they are spec long btc and cashing fx inventory- unlikely), or laying off on an exchange with a modest spread for the time risk (because sometimes you can't lay off to your advantage even with a fixed bid/ask spread in your favor).

I like what they are doing so far though.
legendary
Activity: 1162
Merit: 1001
January 01, 2014, 03:28:39 PM
#8
I've been researching this for a while, and have noticed that 95% of the time, Coinbase's price is pegged to Bitstamp.  It is especially tight when the market is in decline, and opens up somewhat (not so tightly pegged), when the market is rising rapidly, such as when it was headed for the 1200 mark recently.

I have some charts that show this effect: https://daybittrader.com/ (scroll to the bottom)

You can see there is only a loose relation when compared to Mtgox, but Bitstamp tracks almost every little change.  Has anyone else researched this or noticed this effect?

I have a few months of data if any serious people would like to do research.  I don't want to dump it to the whole world, but you can PM me if you're curious.


Enough data on the page to remove all doubt.




They are hedging, and keeping the spread between the bid/ask. Standard procedure at forex desks (Coinbase has former forex desk people of course). You can sell yours at coinbase at 800 and they will lay them off on bitstamp at say 805 and they pocket 5 bucks, every trade or whatever the spread happens to be.

Since coinbase has the instant conversion option for merchants they pretty much have to do it that way to avert the risk, just basic dynamic hedging. Good to know though, thanks.

Really good chart!
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
January 01, 2014, 09:15:36 AM
#7
I thought it was a known thing that Coinbase uses Bitstamp as their backend (but on a quick search I didn't find proof of it). They aren't an actual exchange AFAIK. You act surprised, though?
No, not surprised, though I didn't know much about Bitstamp other than being a inactive member there when I started researching this a few months ago.  It looks like Coinbase relies on them a lot.  If you watch the line you'll see a gap opens or tightens when the market changes.  The Coinbase price rises when the market is in rapid expansion, though it still seems to be relatively pegged to Bitstamp.

They are hedging, and keeping the spread between the bid/ask. Standard procedure at forex desks (Coinbase has former forex desk people of course). You can sell yours at coinbase at 800 and they will lay them off on bitstamp at say 805 and they pocket 5 bucks, every trade or whatever the spread happens to be.

I haven't researched the sell price yet, so I don't know if they're generally selling on MtGox or Bitstamp.  I'll probably start collecting that data soon if anyone is interested.
member
Activity: 182
Merit: 10
January 01, 2014, 02:37:27 AM
#6
I've been researching this for a while, and have noticed that 95% of the time, Coinbase's price is pegged to Bitstamp.  It is especially tight when the market is in decline, and opens up somewhat (not so tightly pegged), when the market is rising rapidly, such as when it was headed for the 1200 mark recently.

I have some charts that show this effect: https://daybittrader.com/ (scroll to the bottom)

You can see there is only a loose relation when compared to Mtgox, but Bitstamp tracks almost every little change.  Has anyone else researched this or noticed this effect?

I have a few months of data if any serious people would like to do research.  I don't want to dump it to the whole world, but you can PM me if you're curious.


Enough data on the page to remove all doubt.




They are hedging, and keeping the spread between the bid/ask. Standard procedure at forex desks (Coinbase has former forex desk people of course). You can sell yours at coinbase at 800 and they will lay them off on bitstamp at say 805 and they pocket 5 bucks, every trade or whatever the spread happens to be.

Since coinbase has the instant conversion option for merchants they pretty much have to do it that way to avert the risk, just basic dynamic hedging. Good to know though, thanks.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
January 01, 2014, 12:18:30 AM
#5
They claim on the site that they draw from several sources - but I really don't care because the price to me has always seemed consistent and fair. There was a day awhile ago where I think it was lagging at about $650 and Gox was nearing $800...
sr. member
Activity: 378
Merit: 255
December 31, 2013, 09:44:23 PM
#4
Yeah, it's almost always about $3 above Bitstamp.
sr. member
Activity: 294
Merit: 250
December 31, 2013, 09:04:00 PM
#3
I am glad Coinbase uses Bitstamp, as I believe it is a more honest price standard when I look at what I cant actually transfer out into fiat currency.  Mtgox also seems over priced and no Americans get money out of Mtgox anyway!

Mtnminer
newbie
Activity: 17
Merit: 0
December 31, 2013, 08:23:32 PM
#2
I thought it was a known thing that Coinbase uses Bitstamp as their backend (but on a quick search I didn't find proof of it). They aren't an actual exchange AFAIK. You act surprised, though?
member
Activity: 93
Merit: 10
Software Engineer
December 30, 2013, 07:01:44 PM
#1
I've been researching this for a while, and have noticed that 95% of the time, Coinbase's price is pegged to Bitstamp.  It is especially tight when the market is in decline, and opens up somewhat (not so tightly pegged), when the market is rising rapidly, such as when it was headed for the 1200 mark recently.

I have some charts that show this effect: https://daybittrader.com/ (scroll to the bottom)

You can see there is only a loose relation when compared to Mtgox, but Bitstamp tracks almost every little change.  Has anyone else researched this or noticed this effect?

I have a few months of data if any serious people would like to do research.  I don't want to dump it to the whole world, but you can PM me if you're curious.


***EDIT*** added image from below post:
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