Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money • Hacker News Board

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#31

Post by Nursie » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:02 AM UTC

_Nat_ wrote: post #28

Nursie wrote: post #2

The question is here - how can they run out of liquidity in the first place? Surely as an honest exchange platform you match buyers and sellers, and take a transaction fee? This implies they have been playing games with customer deposits. Which would be shocking for a cryptocurrency platform!

From [this page]( https://www.bitprime.co.nz/how-it-works/#fees ): > Our fee structure is different to that of a brokerage or exchange. As a retailer, our expenses are generally higher than a sole crypto trader’s. So apparently not an " exchange platform ", but rather a " retailer ". Presumably they're trying to cater to less-technical folks who'd pay extra for the convenience/ease. > What you see is what you get! Ou…

Yeah, as a retailer their business is far more at risk from market fluctuations I guess. They can ride high in the bull market but a drop in asset price puts everything at risk.

OK, well that does explain things more neatly.

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#32

Post by grapeskin » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:03 AM UTC

gumby wrote: post #21

soared wrote: post #16

Would someone mind calming me by explaining why this is not a huge red flag, this isn’t the beginning of the end, and a theoretical crypto crash won’t throw the market into turmoil (or why the current market turmoil ain’t so bad)? I don’t have any kids to feed, just young dumb and tired of market crashes.

Cryptocurrencies are a tiny and insignificant part of the financial landscape. Maybe (formerly) a bit larger than VC but even less influential.

Bitcoin alone was apparently given a market cap of over 2 trillion recently.

That’s roughly the entire GDP of France. If France’s economy poofed out of existence or halved in value, that’d be a huge shake up.

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#33

Post by mdoms » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:05 AM UTC

rco8786 wrote: post #26

“Small startup closes after running out of money” is not a terribly catchy headline I guess.

It's also less descriptive, accurate and precise.

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#34

Post by beezle » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:05 AM UTC

grapeskin wrote: post #32

gumby wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cryptocurrencies are a tiny and insignificant part of the financial landscape. Maybe (formerly) a bit larger than VC but even less influential.

Bitcoin alone was apparently given a market cap of over 2 trillion recently. That’s roughly the entire GDP of France. If France’s economy poofed out of existence or halved in value, that’d be a huge shake up.

Slightly less than Apple's market cap.

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#35

Post by woah » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:06 AM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #17

This is not a product anyone has heard of. Negative crypto stories get a lot more play on HN than the legions of tech startups laying off workers, and FAANG stocks ruining RSU packages. The whole world of markets is being popped right now. For example pension funds are doing terribly: https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/pensions-bad-year-poised-to... This has nothing to do with crypto and is going to hurt a lot of innoc…

GrubHub stock is down to $3 after a high of $20. Food is a scam.

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#36

Post by [deleted] » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:07 AM UTC

soared wrote: post #16

Would someone mind calming me by explaining why this is not a huge red flag, this isn’t the beginning of the end, and a theoretical crypto crash won’t throw the market into turmoil (or why the current market turmoil ain’t so bad)? I don’t have any kids to feed, just young dumb and tired of market crashes.

[deleted]

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#37

Post by adamnemecek » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:07 AM UTC

beezle wrote: post #34

grapeskin wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin alone was apparently given a market cap of over 2 trillion recently. That’s roughly the entire GDP of France. If France’s economy poofed out of existence or halved in value, that’d be a huge shake up.

Slightly less than Apple's market cap.

GDP is annual. Market cap is not. It’s like comparing income with net worth.

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#38

Post by aaaaaaaaata » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:07 AM UTC

grapeskin wrote: post #32

gumby wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cryptocurrencies are a tiny and insignificant part of the financial landscape. Maybe (formerly) a bit larger than VC but even less influential.

Bitcoin alone was apparently given a market cap of over 2 trillion recently. That’s roughly the entire GDP of France. If France’s economy poofed out of existence or halved in value, that’d be a huge shake up.

To Belgium, perhaps.

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#39

Post by IAmEveryone » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:09 AM UTC

gumby wrote: post #21

soared wrote: post #16

Would someone mind calming me by explaining why this is not a huge red flag, this isn’t the beginning of the end, and a theoretical crypto crash won’t throw the market into turmoil (or why the current market turmoil ain’t so bad)? I don’t have any kids to feed, just young dumb and tired of market crashes.

Cryptocurrencies are a tiny and insignificant part of the financial landscape. Maybe (formerly) a bit larger than VC but even less influential.

$ 1.2 trillion, or 6 % of US GDP p. a., according to coinmarketcap.com

I guess it was about 10 % at some point not too long ago?

Re: Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money

#40

Post by the_gastropod » Thu, May 12, 2022, 2:09 AM UTC

grapeskin wrote: post #32

gumby wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cryptocurrencies are a tiny and insignificant part of the financial landscape. Maybe (formerly) a bit larger than VC but even less influential.

Bitcoin alone was apparently given a market cap of over 2 trillion recently. That’s roughly the entire GDP of France. If France’s economy poofed out of existence or halved in value, that’d be a huge shake up.

Market cap is a hilariously meaningless term in the world of crypto. $2 Trillion very simple * calculation. Nowhere near $2 Trillion of actual money are in this system. Comparing this to the GDP of one of the largest economies on the planet is... well, it's just silly.