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Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

blog.coinbase.com

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Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#81

Post by wmf »

toomim wrote: post #52
omh wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That means they have a net exposure to the bitcoin price (possibly quite a large one). From their point of view that's not all that desirable.

Except that, with the price rising, they're making money from that "exposure" on average. And they obviously believe the price will keep going up, because they're a bitcoin business, and believe in bitcoin. If the price stops going up, their company will fail anyway. And finally, perhaps you noticed that coinbase is processing thousands of bitcoin purchases now. So I'd say, with all that data, it's not actually that…

The exchange rate has no effect on Silk Road. People will still want to buy BTC.

Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#83

Post by gojomo »

stcredzero wrote: post #31
pdog wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or the other vice, SatoshiDice[1]. [1]: http://satoshidice.com/

Drugs, gambling...get hookers in there, and you'll have a legit currency. ;) No, seriously, once a currency gets to the point hookers accept it, it's indisputable that it's real.

If you wanted to make the 'Uber of prostitution', you'd probably find Bitcoin helpful.

Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#84

Post by teebs »

nthitz wrote: post #7

Wonder how much of that is being spent on the Silk Road?

This isn't a complete, up-to-date answer, but Nicolas Christin estimated in August 2012 that 1.2 million USD worth of transactions are made every month. http://arxiv.org/pdf/1207.7139v2.pdf I imagine that number has grown, but odds are that the vast majority of Bitcoin usage still isn't on the Silk Road.

Also, buyers on the Silk Road have to be careful about which services they use to buy Bitcoin. If CoinBase isn't anonymous (and I'd guess it's not, since it uses bank transfers), Silk Road transactions could be tracked back to the purchaser's bank account.

Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#85

Post by nextstep »

nym wrote: post #73

If you have used coinbase, please write a review of it for us! http://howdoyoubuybitcoins.com/from/coinbase/ If you want to deposit cash at a Chase ATM, you can do so with BitMe: http://howdoyoubuybitcoins.com/from/bitme/ ..and if you don't live in the united states, we have guides for you too: http://howdoyoubuybitcoins.com/in/

Can you explain how the BitMe Chase ATM deposit method works? Their website doesn't say a lot (just to make a deposit in their Chase account and save the receipt.)

Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#86

Post by unix-dude »

mrb wrote: post #64
unix-dude wrote: post #18

I think bitcoin is an extremely interesting concept, and the economics around it are equally interesting. I bought a tiny amount when the prices were around the $11 mark, and its insane to think of the price-shift. I made a couple bucks off the price shift, but now I'm honestly thinking that the price will fall back down. Despite serving the needs of many SR/SatoshiDice people, I dont think they're quite at the point…

The price jumped from $13 to $22 over 1 month, not 12 hours. http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg60ztgSzm1g10zm2g2...

Youre actually right. It jumped from around 15.50 to a bit above 20 in one day.

The point stands though, very short term, massive spikes.

Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#87

Post by ARolek »

thefreeman wrote: post #54
Jd wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with all fiat currencies is they have no inherent value; it is all in the eye of the beholder. So what is an "appropriate" price is quite difficult to determine. Most currencies are driven by being effective monopolies wherever they are issued, so the market price remains somewhat stable. Even so, many professional economists have opined that the exchange rates even between major currencies are way too vo…

To say Bitcoin has no inherent value is not quite accurate. The inherent value of the Bitcoin comes from the electricity required to power the computational cycles to "create" it.

I use to think this was true too, but it was clarified for me on at https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#Where_does_the_value_of_Bitco...:

"It's a common misconception that Bitcoins gain their value from the cost of electricity required to generate them. Cost doesn't equal value – hiring 1,000 men to shovel a big hole in the ground may be costly, but not valuable. Also, even though scarcity is a critical requirement for a useful currency, it alone doesn't make anything valuable. For example, your fingerprints are scarce, but that doesn't mean they have any exchange value."

Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#88

Post by dasil003 »

uwe_dushan wrote: post #77
centro wrote: post #55

Notice how their success is measured in USD.

That's because it's the unit of value that the article's reader is most likely familiar with. When you go on vacation you're most likely constantly converting prices in the local currency to the currency you're familiar with - that doesn't mean the local currency is worthless (if that's what you were implying). After I moved from UK to US, it was months before I stopped doing the mental arithmetic from USD to GBP.

When you move from the US to the UK you have to stop doing it immediately or you'll drive yourself insane.

Re: Coinbase Is Now Selling Over $1M USD Of Bitcoin Per Month

#90

Post by eitland »

[deleted] wrote: post #78
eitland wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that there are fewer possible bitcoins than inhabitants on this planet should tell us that bitcoin should be a good investment at the current excange rate... ...given that bitcoin is still around when all blocks are exhausted, legal to most of the worlds population by then and not outcompeted by something better (better marketed?) by then. Warning: I am no economist, I still don't know what a fiat currency i…

[deleted]

Exactly my point. Fractions of a bitcoin will become normal amounts in everyday purchases because since there is not even enough bitcoins for everyone the value of each coin will rise.
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