Let's revisit a topic discussed (what seems like) ages ago.
Bitcoin price is stagnant; dark pools are back in vogue. We are seeing a two-tier value structure emerge just as there exists with gold. Observe the former to understand the mature market of the latter.
Bitcoin really has two different trading markets. Silbert spoke about the two-pronged bitcoin exchange market, which is really comprised of a consumer market with millions of people who trade through Coinbase or BitStamp, and an institutional market, where buyers and sellers are moving large blocks of bitcoins “off-exchange.” Silbert said that Bitstamp is the typical reference point for those off-exchange transactions. Somewhat intuitively, he confirmed that when bitcoin prices are rising, those off-exchange sellers demand a price premium to BitStamp; when prices are falling, buyers demand a discount; in stable environments (like recent weeks), the BitStamp price is pretty much accurate.
SourceAmidst the backdrop of a dramatic price drop for bitcoin in the past week, Barry Silbert announced that his Bitcoin Investment Trust recently broke the 100k BTC mark. So as Chinese investors firesell their remaining bitcoin, the institutional investors continue to pile in. Silbert acknowledged at the Inside Bitcoins conference that the reference prices most of us retail investors use at Bitstamp and BTC-e, may not necessarily reflect the true prices commanded in “off-exchange” transactions. In environments where skittish retail investors are selling and US institutions are trying to amass enormous positions, I believe the true bitcoin price may be higher than the one we see on CoinDesk.
SourceSound familiar? Replace
Bitcoin Trust with
China and it should.
The transition is in progress and far from complete; metals are still with us for years to come, whether we like it or not.