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Bitcoin falls from $266

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Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#51

Post by erikpukinskis »

shin_lao wrote: post #28
sukuriant wrote: post #10

Wasn't Bitcoin at $100 just a couple of days ago? I feel like I'm watching a penny stock; and, while I would have enjoyed something like a 10x stock value worth if I'd gotten in when I thought to, this variability is scary

There was a lot of BitCoin related press coverage. This is probably related. Volatility is high which will harm the adoption of BitCoin by vendors, which will in turn drive the price down when people realize they can't do anything with their BitCoins, etc.

Bitcoin isn't really in the adoption by vendors stage yet. Two things are happening right now that are driving the price:

1) Adoption in politically sensitive markets (drug dealers, disaporas, people in corrupt states, etc) who have no other options.

2) The slow process of the finance world understanding what Bitcoin is, and how to value it.

The first is happening because there is demand for it. The second is happening because global finance organizations seek out and exploit any and all market opportunities.

I think what we'll see in the next few years is that #1 will keep growing, and #2 will cause wild swings in bitcoin prices as we develop the technologies and scholarship necessary to truly reckon Bitcoin's value.

At that point, the markets will have a good bead on the true adoption rate and the market mechanics, which will allow them to converge on a more stable value. Only then will Bitcoin start to become a good medium for broader consumer exchange.

That said, even if it's only ever used for politically sensitive transactions, and it never takes off as a consumer payment service, it will be a very big economy.

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#52

Post by baddox »

sliverstorm wrote: post #43
gdw2 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just thought about something I'd never thought before: Could it be said that bitcoins _do_ have an intrinsic value equal to the marginal amount of electricity and equipment needed to produce one?

That isn't an intrinsic value. Waste heat does not have an intrinsic value equivalent to the cost of producing it- it is waste heat. Intrinsic value is derived from what you can do with something, not what you did to get it.

> Intrinsic value is derived from what you can do with something

So then, the market price of any good is its intrinsic value? Under this definition, if I can sell a bitcoin for x USD, then its intrinsic value is x USD.

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#53

Post by [deleted] »

sliverstorm wrote: post #43
gdw2 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just thought about something I'd never thought before: Could it be said that bitcoins _do_ have an intrinsic value equal to the marginal amount of electricity and equipment needed to produce one?

That isn't an intrinsic value. Waste heat does not have an intrinsic value equivalent to the cost of producing it- it is waste heat. Intrinsic value is derived from what you can do with something, not what you did to get it.

[deleted]

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#54

Post by jlgreco »

6thSigma wrote: post #16

Am I the only one who thinks of Bitcoin as purely a speculative commodity which is leveraged mostly by the fact that it is in a financial grey area?

I think you are largely correct (and no, you are without doubt not the only person to think that ;). However I do think that to some degree the ability to buy drugs with it plays a role in its value; it is not just a financial toy.

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#55

Post by ashray »

chollida1 wrote: post #44
ashray wrote: post #13

Before crying wolf, understand that bitcoin exchanges are unfortunately not battle hardened internet businesses. Two of the largest exchanges MtGox and bitstamp are both under DDOS. This may be an attempt by someone to make a large buy at a cheaper price. Due to lack of trading, prices are going downward. However, BTC China is still trading at above $275! That's the beauty of bitcoin, it isn't restricted to just one…

> However, BTC China is still trading at above $275! That's the beauty of bitcoin, it isn't restricted to just one region in the world. Bitcoin does have alot of advantages over existing currencies it, but this isn't one of them. I can buy and sell USD/CAD/AUE/GBP in many markets around the world

Yes, but that's because those governments have allowed their currencies to be free float currencies or something like that. Buying and selling an Indian Rupee for example is quite heavily restricted. Probably to prevent instability caused from speculation.

BTC never had that from the start because it's pretty much unregulated from the get go.

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#56

Post by suhastech »

pc86 wrote: post #22
ashray wrote: post #13

Before crying wolf, understand that bitcoin exchanges are unfortunately not battle hardened internet businesses. Two of the largest exchanges MtGox and bitstamp are both under DDOS. This may be an attempt by someone to make a large buy at a cheaper price. Due to lack of trading, prices are going downward. However, BTC China is still trading at above $275! That's the beauty of bitcoin, it isn't restricted to just one…

Is it possible to buy from MtGox at $200 and sell in BTC China shortly thereafter at $275? I know nothing about BTC.

In theory, yes.

It happens even in the real world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbitrage

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#57

Post by fr0sty »

Just for reference: as of 2:26ET last trade I can get from the mtGox API was for $157.

EDIT:

2:52:00 last trade: $142

2:56:58 last trade: $135

3:10:10 last trade: $117.57

3:20:52 last trade: $106.00 (this is the lowest price I've seen)

3:42:ish trades between $125-$150

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#59

Post by sliverstorm »

baddox wrote: post #52
sliverstorm wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That isn't an intrinsic value. Waste heat does not have an intrinsic value equivalent to the cost of producing it- it is waste heat. Intrinsic value is derived from what you can do with something, not what you did to get it.

> Intrinsic value is derived from what you can do with something So then, the market price of any good is its intrinsic value? Under this definition, if I can sell a bitcoin for x USD, then its intrinsic value is x USD.

The ability to sell an item for x USD is not one of the "things" you can do with it that contribute to intrinsic value. Let's put it a different way; if the market value for a bitcoin was $0, what could you do with it? Compare that to an apple. If the market value for an apple was $0, you could eat it. Thus (unless someone has a clever use for bitcoins outside of currency) an apple has greater intrinsic value than a bitcoin.

Re: Bitcoin falls from $266

#60

Post by Kaedon »

wting wrote: post #17

I'm interested in the price of Bitcoin, but we don't need these daily submissions. If you're interested in following the price, I suggest these links: - https://bitcoinity.org/markets - http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD - http://bitcoin.clarkmoody.com/ If you're interested in talking about the price, try #bitcoin-pricetalk on Freenode.

It's interesting how quickly its fallen even since this article was posted. It looks like it's around 150 now.
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