I cannot imagine why people who would bid above market wouldn't just buy from, you know, SecondMarket in the first place.
Remember that SecondMarket charges you 5% fees for a winning bid on this auction, and this is in addition to SecondMarket syndicate bidders not buying one full block individually, and thus other options to acquire that amount are much more competitive with low slippage.
That said, this auction is unimportant anyway as it's maybe a week's worth of mining supply.
Topic: GBTC Bitcoin Investment Trust Observer - page 83. (Read 262357 times)
Barry Silbert just tweeted a summary of the syndicate that SecondMarket organized to bid on the USMS auction:
https://twitter.com/barrysilbert/status/482951689381904384
I presume that they asked the bidders to provide the full dollar amount of their bids in advance, otherwise one defaulter could cause other bidders in the same lot to lose their share of the deposit.
It seems likely that most if not all of those bids were well below market. I cannot imagine why someone would enter that syndicate to buy a couple hundred BTC above market, instead of buying at an exchange (or buying shares of SMBIT).
Finally, I imagine that SecondMarket and SMBIT did not submit any bid of their own, either as part of the syndicate or separately. Otherwise there would be an, erm, rather delicate situation there.
https://twitter.com/barrysilbert/status/482951689381904384
Quote
42 bidders
186 bids received
BTC quantity bid 48,013
I gather that they collected bids from those 42 people (average bid: ~264 BTC), then selected the highest ones adding up to the auction offer (~29'600 BTC) and submitted bids for the 10 lots, at suitable mean prices.186 bids received
BTC quantity bid 48,013
I presume that they asked the bidders to provide the full dollar amount of their bids in advance, otherwise one defaulter could cause other bidders in the same lot to lose their share of the deposit.
It seems likely that most if not all of those bids were well below market. I cannot imagine why someone would enter that syndicate to buy a couple hundred BTC above market, instead of buying at an exchange (or buying shares of SMBIT).
Finally, I imagine that SecondMarket and SMBIT did not submit any bid of their own, either as part of the syndicate or separately. Otherwise there would be an, erm, rather delicate situation there.
^They are waiting to buy the FBI seized coins (silk road and some other and 3000 BTC donations to their addresses). You can't expect any uptrend before that, because lower the market price - lower they buy it, less $ for FBI.
They should not have to depend on that. They should make profit even buying coins at the market price, and they must have sources (miners etc.) who can provide a couple thousand coins per week, at or below market price. Most likely they not finding clients willing to lock their money for six months into a fund whose shares have lost 10% of their nominal value in the last two weeks.
^They are waiting to buy the FBI seized coins (silk road and some other and 3000 BTC donations to their addresses). You can't expect any uptrend before that, because lower the market price - lower they buy it, less $ for FBI.
Still nothing? It's amazing that noone is buying Bitcoins. All have lost interest?
Just updated. Still accumulating, albeit slowly
Still nothing? It's amazing that noone is buying Bitcoins. All have lost interest?
I wonder if the pause in purchasing is because of the govt sale... IIRC they had previously expressed interest in buying these coins so its quite possible that they got advance notice that a sale was imminent.
Best explanation I heard so far, but a month earlier? Who knows. Then again, they aren't guaranteed to get their fill at the auction, and I'm not sure they would wait this long to fill orders.They buy bitcoin if and only if their clients ask so, so I don't think it is related.
Having said that, I don't expect their client will buy in any big amount before the auction is concluded.
This is a traditional HNWI broker operation. You can be sure they're on the phone trying to put together commitments to make a serious bid.
I wonder if the pause in purchasing is because of the govt sale... IIRC they had previously expressed interest in buying these coins so its quite possible that they got advance notice that a sale was imminent.
Best explanation I heard so far, but a month earlier? Who knows. Then again, they aren't guaranteed to get their fill at the auction, and I'm not sure they would wait this long to fill orders.They buy bitcoin if and only if their clients ask so, so I don't think it is related.
Having said that, I don't expect their client will buy in any big amount before the auction is concluded.
I wonder if the pause in purchasing is because of the govt sale... IIRC they had previously expressed interest in buying these coins so its quite possible that they got advance notice that a sale was imminent.
Best explanation I heard so far, but a month earlier? Who knows. Then again, they aren't guaranteed to get their fill at the auction, and I'm not sure they would wait this long to fill orders.the only way they can do it is by preorders (and precash)
I wonder if the pause in purchasing is because of the govt sale... IIRC they had previously expressed interest in buying these coins so its quite possible that they got advance notice that a sale was imminent.
Best explanation I heard so far, but a month earlier? Who knows. Then again, they aren't guaranteed to get their fill at the auction, and I'm not sure they would wait this long to fill orders.
I wonder if the pause in purchasing is because of the govt sale... IIRC they had previously expressed interest in buying these coins so its quite possible that they got advance notice that a sale was imminent.
My grandmother's buying 10 coins.
Coolest. Grandmother. Ever.
| 10-Jun-14 | 64.34 | 69.16 | 106325 | 10 | 0.01 |
They're buying 10 coins?
My grandmother's buying 10 coins.
Sheesh. Whales these days...
Okay, seriously though:
Thanks a lot for keeping this updated, jl2012. Much appreciated.
That's actually below their minimum investment ($25000), so most likely rounding error
| 10-Jun-14 | 64.34 | 69.16 | 106325 | 10 | 0.01 |
They're buying 10 coins?
My grandmother's buying 10 coins.
Sheesh. Whales these days...
Okay, seriously though:
Thanks a lot for keeping this updated, jl2012. Much appreciated.
since the site show 2 decimal places for net asset, please consider adding that. Thanks.
updated
since the site show 2 decimal places for net asset, please consider adding that. Thanks.
updated
Thanks! Slow and gradual continued buying. I like it.
So if they are not doing anything, why would any investor invest? Easier to get a stake in Bitcoins through this method?
Others have explained: among other things, the investors* do not have to register and interact with dubious exchanges;
* can invest largish amounts without slippage;
* do not need to worry about computer security;
* can use some retirement money that cannot be applied in bitcoin directly.
These reasons seem to be enough for some people.
Not really, they bought most of them between $700 and $1,100 
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.6449073
They are already at a big loss then. Why do not they do short term speculation?https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.6449073
It is the people who invest in the fund (i.e. who buy their shares) who assume all the risk. Specifically, the investors who bought SMBIT shares when the BTC price was below 650$ are currently happy, the others are currently at unhappy.
The investors cannot do anything for the first six months; after which all they can do is liquidate their shares, at a price proprtional to the current BTC market price. Thus SMBIT does not have to do any smart trading: it could just buy when someone invests, sell when someone liquidates, always at the current market price, and it would still make a good profit.
SMBIT could make some extra money, for itself and/or for their investors, by playing the market with the coins that they are holding for their investors; but I assume that they are prohibited to do so by the contract, even if the investors wanted them to.
Is this correct?
So if they are not doing anything, why would any investor invest? Easier to get a stake in Bitcoins through this method?
Some people with lot of money just want to invest in bitcoin, but they don't have the time to learn or they don't want to deal with it. (specially old fashined ones)
Not really, they bought most of them between $700 and $1,100
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.6449073
They are already at a big loss then. Why do not they do short term speculation?https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.6449073
It is the people who invest in the fund (i.e. who buy their shares) who assume all the risk. Specifically, the investors who bought SMBIT shares when the BTC price was below 650$ are currently happy, the others are currently at unhappy.
The investors cannot do anything for the first six months; after which all they can do is liquidate their shares, at a price proprtional to the current BTC market price. Thus SMBIT does not have to do any smart trading: it could just buy when someone invests, sell when someone liquidates, always at the current market price, and it would still make a good profit.
SMBIT could make some extra money, for itself and/or for their investors, by playing the market with the coins that they are holding for their investors; but I assume that they are prohibited to do so by the contract, even if the investors wanted them to.
Is this correct?
So if they are not doing anything, why would any investor invest? Easier to get a stake in Bitcoins through this method?
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