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Topic: The Rise of Bitcoin Cost (Read 5264 times)

anu
legendary
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1001
RepuX - Enterprise Blockchain Protocol
August 08, 2012, 01:17:57 AM
#34
High BTC price is mainly a good thing, as it stabilizes the price - a 1$ movement in price is huge when price is 5$, and a minor thing when price is 100$

That's not really a good argument -  there's no reason why the absolute volatility of the price should be constant, rather than proportional to the price itself. What is a good argument is that higher price implies more people which implies a more diffuse community and therefore more stability due to the random walk effect.
It is. Back in November buying a car for $30K would move the price more than 20% back and forth (you buying the BTC and the car dealer selling them again). Today, the same deal would barely be noticeable.
newbie
Activity: 45
Merit: 0
August 07, 2012, 06:53:14 PM
#33
I too am curious to know why a rise in price is perceived as a problem.
Use as a medium of exchange is critical to Bitcoin's long-term success. Instability in value makes a currency harder to use as a medium of exchange. Imagine, for example, if you placed a large purchase on a Bitcoin credit card and the value of Bitcoins doubled. Or imagine if your rent was in Bitcoins and then the value of Bitcoins doubled.
Part of using something as a medium of exchange is you hold those things to plan for future purchases.  If you're paying rent in BTC and holding dollars, you're doing it wrong imo.
Sure, that solves the problem for people who have enough wealth stored that they can stash the money to pay all their future rent when they enter into the rental agreement. However, for ordinary people, having their rent suddenly cost twice as much of their income would be devastating.
To me having 6-12 months of rent saved seems fairly "ordinary" when you enter into a rental agreement. (I'm sleeping in the woods before I'm coughing up like most of my net worth on rent.)

But regardless, I don't think it makes much sense to make long-term contracts in BTC right now. Your hypothetical person should be getting income in BTC if it makes sense to do rent contracts that way.

When it's widely used, then it can be stable, but stability now would just mean bitcoin is never widely used.
legendary
Activity: 1050
Merit: 1000
August 07, 2012, 08:47:40 AM
#32
Quote
The research discovered that there was a very tight coupling between the Silk Road and Bitcoin market, saying that "daily sales on Silk Road correspond to almost 20 percent fo the average daily volume of US dollar to Bitcoin exchanges on Mt.Gox. As a result, a potentially effective intervention policy would be to destabilise the value of the Bitcoin, creating instability in the market.

Well boys, it looks like its on!! Angry

If they cut fiat access to major bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin will just go into shadows evolving more advanced decentralized exchanges. Even if value of bitcoin drops with panic at that point, in the end Bitcoin will come out only stronger and more resilient.


edit: the quoted comment taken out of context, researchers actually gave 4 suggestions on "potential intervention strategies": a) Attacking the (tor) network; b) Attacking the financial infrastructure; c) Attacking the delivery model & d) Laissez-faire - do nothing.  To follow author's logic with accepting "attacking financial infrastructure", it should start with fiat - as it is widely used in all sorts of crime.
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1000
I owe my soul to the Bitcoin code...
August 07, 2012, 06:53:24 AM
#31
Quote
The research discovered that there was a very tight coupling between the Silk Road and Bitcoin market, saying that "daily sales on Silk Road correspond to almost 20 percent fo the average daily volume of US dollar to Bitcoin exchanges on Mt.Gox. As a result, a potentially effective intervention policy would be to destabilise the value of the Bitcoin, creating instability in the market.

Well boys, it looks like its on!! Angry
legendary
Activity: 1596
Merit: 1012
Democracy is vulnerable to a 51% attack.
August 06, 2012, 11:16:44 PM
#30
I too am curious to know why a rise in price is perceived as a problem.
Use as a medium of exchange is critical to Bitcoin's long-term success. Instability in value makes a currency harder to use as a medium of exchange. Imagine, for example, if you placed a large purchase on a Bitcoin credit card and the value of Bitcoins doubled. Or imagine if your rent was in Bitcoins and then the value of Bitcoins doubled.
Part of using something as a medium of exchange is you hold those things to plan for future purchases.  If you're paying rent in BTC and holding dollars, you're doing it wrong imo.
Sure, that solves the problem for people who have enough wealth stored that they can stash the money to pay all their future rent when they enter into the rental agreement. However, for ordinary people, having their rent suddenly cost twice as much of their income would be devastating.
legendary
Activity: 1946
Merit: 1006
Bitcoin / Crypto mining Hardware.
newbie
Activity: 45
Merit: 0
August 06, 2012, 05:45:56 PM
#27
I too am curious to know why a rise in price is perceived as a problem.
Use as a medium of exchange is critical to Bitcoin's long-term success. Instability in value makes a currency harder to use as a medium of exchange. Imagine, for example, if you placed a large purchase on a Bitcoin credit card and the value of Bitcoins doubled. Or imagine if your rent was in Bitcoins and then the value of Bitcoins doubled.

Part of using something as a medium of exchange is you hold those things to plan for future purchases.  If you're paying rent in BTC and holding dollars, you're doing it wrong imo.

Anyways, Bitcoin is used by a tiny amount of people right now.  You're not gonna get to the point of "long-term success" without it going up a bunch.
legendary
Activity: 1008
Merit: 1023
Democracy is the original 51% attack
August 06, 2012, 10:50:45 AM
#26
It started rising after Butterfly Labs started taking payment in BTC for their new mining equipment.

It also started rising after April 15. April 15th must've caused it!
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
August 06, 2012, 09:42:37 AM
#25
Isn't it the case that with low (even if stable) prices, any large transaction in an exchange will move the market, thus causing volatility? The recurring joke here is that current btc economy cannot even sustain a fancy yacht or a house being traded without volatility.

The only way to a more stable and functional market is increase in "market cap" (a misnomer) - and since supply is set in stone, this means increase in exchange rates (influx of fiat capital).

Yes.  However two things are needed.  A larger money supply AND sufficient market depth (doesn't matter where it will all arbitrage).  For Bitcoin, the larger money supply requires higher exchange rates (not just pump and dump but sustainable higher exchange rates due to real demand).   The deeper market depth will come with higher prices, larger players, more economic activity, and more mature exchanges/platforms.

The USD:EUR exchange rate has low volatility not just because both economies are large but also because the Forex market has massive depth.  It takes hundreds of millions in trades to move the market in any meaningful way.
hero member
Activity: 756
Merit: 501
There is more to Bitcoin than bitcoins.
August 06, 2012, 09:38:07 AM
#24
To some extent, the price of a bitcoin is a measure of the success of bitcoins. (Though indirectly.)

This is an important point. Perhaps trivial, but many miss it: if Bitcoin ever succeeds, the exchange rates will have to be many times higher than they are today. The other way around is not necessarily true: high price doesn't indicate the success (wide adoption). Lots of fiat capital doesn't necessarily mean lots of users and diversity.
hero member
Activity: 481
Merit: 502
August 06, 2012, 05:55:43 AM
#23
Bitcoin prices rise...

Not sure what the problem is, I would love to know why.

No problems here, chief!
legendary
Activity: 1596
Merit: 1012
Democracy is vulnerable to a 51% attack.
August 06, 2012, 03:49:26 AM
#22
Isn't it the case that with low (even if stable) prices, any large transaction in an exchange will move the market, thus causing volatility?
I believe so.

Quote
The only way to a more stable and functional market is increase in "market cap" (a misnomer) - and since supply is set in stone, this means increase in exchange rates (influx of fiat capital).
I agree. To some extent, the price of a bitcoin is a measure of the success of bitcoins. (Though indirectly.)
hero member
Activity: 812
Merit: 1006
August 06, 2012, 01:42:38 AM
#21
If there is lots of volatility, it probably offers lots of opportunities for speculators/bot-writers/traders to profit from the volatility. SO the problem could fix itself.
hero member
Activity: 756
Merit: 501
There is more to Bitcoin than bitcoins.
August 05, 2012, 10:56:57 PM
#20
I too am curious to know why a rise in price is perceived as a problem.
Use as a medium of exchange is critical to Bitcoin's long-term success. Instability in value makes a currency harder to use as a medium of exchange. Imagine, for example, if you placed a large purchase on a Bitcoin credit card and the value of Bitcoins doubled. Or imagine if your rent was in Bitcoins and then the value of Bitcoins doubled.


Isn't it the case that with low (even if stable) prices, any large transaction in an exchange will move the market, thus causing volatility? The recurring joke here is that current btc economy cannot even sustain a fancy yacht or a house being traded without volatility.

The only way to a more stable and functional market is increase in "market cap" (a misnomer) - and since supply is set in stone, this means increase in exchange rates (influx of fiat capital).
hero member
Activity: 546
Merit: 500
August 05, 2012, 05:39:56 PM
#19
"Correlation does not imply causation"

But its interesting to factor in...
vip
Activity: 756
Merit: 504
August 05, 2012, 04:48:00 PM
#18
Bitcoin prices rise...


Lately the price of BTC has sore above the roof!

(4-5$USD to 10USD)

Why is that and what is the factor that will stop the rise?

Unexpected dumps:



Are more people investing in Bitcoins or somewhat "hoarding" them?

Not sure what the problem is, I would love to know why.

Yes, there were more people securing investments and buying Bitcoins in the last two months:



Quote
The Accumulation Distribution Line can be used to gauge the general flow of volume. An uptrend indicates that buying pressure is prevailing on a regular basis, while a downtrend indicates that selling pressure is prevailing.

http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school:technical_indicators:accumulation_distrib
legendary
Activity: 2940
Merit: 1090
August 05, 2012, 04:37:51 PM
#17
It is still ridiculously underpriced, only now starting to recover from the big loss of confidence that brought it down from the $30+ it was at last year...

-MarkM-
hero member
Activity: 523
Merit: 500
August 05, 2012, 04:23:54 PM
#16
Its a combination of several factors.

Bitcoin surviving the previous crash.

Paul Graham of YCombinator
Bitinstant making bitcoin available at Walmart and Seven Eleven.
Nordic Bitcoin making Bitcoins available to 300 million people
Manipulation
Expectations
More investors
Bigger investments
Bitcoin slowly starting to spread across the globe.

The Great Euro Crash - 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyNekAJ6rA8&feature=player_embedded#!

But really, if Bitcoin can be expected to be at $50-$150 in 4-5 years or $1000 in 10-15 years.
It has to start going up sometime.



sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
Keep it Simple. Every Bit Matters.
August 05, 2012, 03:08:59 PM
#15
The cause?

More people with traditional market trading experience are getting into bitcoin, not as miners, but investors.
Making money the same way they use to (or maybe still do) trading bitcoin as a currency at the right times for the right price for a profit.

Also speculation of difficulty changes due to new hardware coming to the market in the coming months, plus the block halving soon is a reason for influencing the value of each bitcoin.
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