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Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

nytimes.com

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Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#71

Post by galaxyLogic »

albertwang wrote: post #2

Link to the research paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3195066 From the abstract: Using algorithms to analyze the blockchain data, we find that purchases with Tether are timed following market downturns and result in sizable increases in Bitcoin prices. Less than 1% of hours with such heavy Tether transactions are associated with 50% of the meteoric rise in Bitcoin and 64% of other top crypto…

What if most BitCoin owners know that buying Tether this way is a way to bump up Bitcoin. Therefore they decide to do their part. They don't need to agree on anything with anybody they just understand this is THE way to bump up the price of BitCoin. Is it still a conspiracy?

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#72

Post by craigc »

ceejayoz wrote: post #53
craigc wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not strong evidence that they are not backed by USD. That is strong suspicion. > Lack of transparency does not necessarily indicate fraud https://blog.bitmex.com/tether/

> Lack of transparency does not necessarily indicate fraud Fraudulently claiming "frequent professional audits" that don't exist is good evidence of fraud. So is having a big link "proof of funds" on the home page that links to https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Final-Tether-Co... which says "not intended to be, and should not be, used or relied upon by [non-Tether parties]".

Clearly we do not agree so it is not worth continuing to argue. Honestly, I just want this whole thing resolved one way or the other. I have no personal ties to Tether, and do not care if they are backed 1:1 with USD.

I agree with you they should have an audit done to prove definitively one way or the other that they are backed by USD to put this entire thing to rest.

As it is now, it keeps coming back up every few months in the media, and the narrative is getting old.

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#73

Post by paulpauper »

It's worth noting, SSRN is not peer reviewed, but the NYTimes by omitting this important fact, one can mistake this paper for having the same credibility and soundness as a peer-reviewed paper. Anyone can submit to SSRN. The editorial standards are almost non-existent.

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#74

Post by Donzo »

gowld wrote: post #62
kgwgk wrote: post #28

Today Matt Levine talks about this paper in his daily column: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-13/judge-rul... "of these two explanations— 1) Bitcoin’s rapid and sustained rise is due to the fact that it satisfies a real economic need in an elegant way, and people have responded to that; or 2) Bitcoin’s rapid and sustained rise is due to a magical fountain of fake dollars that everyone just decided to…

What's the difference between a real dollar and a fake dollar? All dollars are first-order fake.

Real US Dollars have a very large arsenal with unimaginable destructive powers propping up their value.

The dollars may be fake but the man with the gun who is standing behind them is very real.

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#75

Post by carbocation »

bhouston wrote: post #67
cstejerean wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which evidence? Because around December when they were printing about a billion dollars worth of tether there was zero evidence it was backed by anything other than wishful thinking. Maybe that’s changed?

My theory is that it was initially not backed fully but after the fact it became backed. A billion or two dollars is not that much money to eventually get, especially if you also hold a lot of valuable BTC as a result of this manipulation. Basically the unbacked tether allowed them to purchase BTC and with the great price increases that become worth way more than the unbacked tether allowing them to leverage that to…

What you're describing is fraud which could still be uncovered by, say, an accounting firm hired to audit. Interesting how none has been allowed to complete an audit.

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#76

Post by rayuela »

paulpauper wrote: post #73

It's worth noting, SSRN is not peer reviewed, but the NYTimes by omitting this important fact, one can mistake this paper for having the same credibility and soundness as a peer-reviewed paper. Anyone can submit to SSRN. The editorial standards are almost non-existent.

Yeah it's like you omitting the fact that it was published by two reputable finance professors who's research specializes in financial market manipulation.

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#77

Post by roywiggins »

gowld wrote: post #62
kgwgk wrote: post #28

Today Matt Levine talks about this paper in his daily column: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-13/judge-rul... "of these two explanations— 1) Bitcoin’s rapid and sustained rise is due to the fact that it satisfies a real economic need in an elegant way, and people have responded to that; or 2) Bitcoin’s rapid and sustained rise is due to a magical fountain of fake dollars that everyone just decided to…

What's the difference between a real dollar and a fake dollar? All dollars are first-order fake.

The Simpsons did it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dErRj6V8_xQ

Tethers are Itchy and Scratchy money.

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#78

Post by craigc »

jandrese wrote: post #61
craigc wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not strong evidence that they are not backed by USD. That is strong suspicion. > Lack of transparency does not necessarily indicate fraud https://blog.bitmex.com/tether/

Shouldn't it be incumbent on them to prove that they are backed by USD and not on me to disprove it? They are the ones making the extraordinary claim here. Given the little we do know about the company the most reasonable assumption is that it is a slightly reworked Ponzi scheme.

What makes the claim extraordinary? If I wanted to make an easily tradable form of USD on the blockchain, I would take a similar approach. Take deposits in US Dollars and issue an equal number of “dollar backed coins” on the blockchain that can then be sent around from exchange to exchange. Nothing about that seems extraordinary to me.

It is very likely the federal reserve is going to do something very similar in the coming years. They will also print more of their coin at will, but no one is going to make a stink about that cause they have already been doing it for a hundred years.

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#79

Post by spiorf »

Donzo wrote: post #74
gowld wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the difference between a real dollar and a fake dollar? All dollars are first-order fake.

Real US Dollars have a very large arsenal with unimaginable destructive powers propping up their value. The dollars may be fake but the man with the gun who is standing behind them is very real.

This is the internet, and those weapons can't fire down here. Try, instead, to delete a two week old transaction from the bitcoin blockchain. You will find that even with military-sized funding, you can't. That's what is backing up bitcoin's value

Re: Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say

#80

Post by delbel »

gowld wrote: post #62
kgwgk wrote: post #28

Today Matt Levine talks about this paper in his daily column: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-13/judge-rul... "of these two explanations— 1) Bitcoin’s rapid and sustained rise is due to the fact that it satisfies a real economic need in an elegant way, and people have responded to that; or 2) Bitcoin’s rapid and sustained rise is due to a magical fountain of fake dollars that everyone just decided to…

What's the difference between a real dollar and a fake dollar? All dollars are first-order fake.

A real dollar was a certificate redeemable for a ounce of silver. The British pound was redeemable for a whole pound of silver.

A fake dollar is borrowed at interest against thin air, fiat currency, from a private bank called the Federal Reserve. It isn't Federal and there is no reserve. The Federal Reserve Act was written by Samuel Untermyer and others, including the Warburgs (who financed the Bolshevik revolution) and was passed on Christmas Eve. It is said Samuel Utermyer blackmailed president Woodro Wilson with a love letters. The same Samuel Utermyer funded the Scofield bible. But I'm going on to other subjects, hope I sparked interest into our history.

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