here are a couple of thoughts based on what I am observing. And thanks so much for all the great insights. Keep it coming since this clarity provides transparency to the bitcoin community.
1. Gox must have a big liquidity problem: they only process small withdrawals. While they don't process larger ones. I know from my own experience and from friends that since more than 5 weeks no withdrawal larger than 3000-5000 USD went through. Let me know if you got a larger withdrawal processed.
Gox has told us they can not cope with the current volume. IMHO they simply do not have the infrastructure for large payouts at the moment. So people have to use other exchanges for bigger payout until Gox has solved the problem.
2. Based on the above, I believe that the leadership days of MtGox are counted. As I looked today , bitstamp is on track to overtake MtGox as market leader soon. They already are 50% of MtGox today.
Are you serious? Bitstamps order book seems to have less than 10% of the Gox volume. See for example:
http://mtgoxlive.com/ordershttps://www.bitstamp.net/market/order_book/It seems that others have done the same recently and that may be the reason why the bitstamp / MtGox spread is narrowing. MtGox is drained....
Sorry, but this is illogical. If Gox would be "drained" the price on Gox would be at multiples of the price on Bitstamp and the Gox order book should be thinned. I do not see such a development. Price narrowing means that the market is still intact, not that Gox has dried. There are obviously enough people who sell Bitcoins on Gox. Nothing has happened yet.
3. As a consequence, Digital Currency Research will now look into starting to display bitstamp charts. That said, we can reassure subscribers that we are already monitoring bitstamp and the forecast is the same.
Just to be sure: From now on you will cover Bitstamp, which is currently mainly used for prompt payouts and which has a market depth which is only a fraction of the total market?
I see no good reason for this shift. As long as the market trusts in Gox and trading operates normally, Gox is the market leader because there is the most volume even if it is not traded. Not to trade is also a decision of market participants. Currently the trading volume on Bitstamp is quite high, but there stays no money on the platform. No one left money on Bitstamp. People cash out immediately.
It would help if bitstamp prices would be available soon as live charts on Sierra chart and trading view . Perhaps someone could help on this front.[/color]
Gox is a multi-currency trading platform with a very powerful and secure API which allows many third-party services. All functions are available through this API. I do not have to use a cumbersome web interface or I can write my own. I'm very, very skeptical with Bitstamp. Bitstamp is technically light years behind Gox. They have only a very rudimentary (and unsafe) API. This would throw us back at least two years. When I see this API I feel like 2011. I can not imagine that many people will use Bitstamp for trading. Bitstamp is only for people who need money fast. People throw their coins in and cash out. This is their only business. The order book is as good as empty all the time on Bitstamp. At the moment they have an important function, because there are no major payouts on Gox. But without Gox Bitstamp (and the Bitcoin) becomes worthless.