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Bitcoin breaks $200

coinbase.com

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Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#21

Post by crassus »

jaekwon wrote: post #6
lectrick wrote: post #2

I came here to bitch that the inflated MtGox price doesn't count... Then I realized that is the non-MtGox price... So it's officially a bubble? sigh

On a related note, ever heard of the bubble theory of money? The theory goes, that good money is essentially a bubble that can't be popped easily. People compare Bitcoin to the tulip mania, but that is a wrong analogy, given that tulips can be cultivated by anyone to any degree -- whereas Bitcoins are capped by design.

See Moldbug's excellent essay "Bitcoin is money, Bitcoin is a bubble" [1]

[1] http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2013/04/bitcoin...

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#22

Post by conductr »

jnbiche wrote: post #5

The fact that the Gox gap is closing makes me suspect that a lot of this rise is coming from new money. I'm guessing few new Bitcoin purchasers are buying through Mt. Gox, which is driving the price up on other exchanges, and closing the gap due to Gox's illiquidity.

My thought was new money too. Maybe the press from the SR bust. Also, maybe confidence because the price withheld the SR bust. But... what do I know

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#23

Post by simplemath »

jaekwon wrote: post #6
lectrick wrote: post #2

I came here to bitch that the inflated MtGox price doesn't count... Then I realized that is the non-MtGox price... So it's officially a bubble? sigh

On a related note, ever heard of the bubble theory of money? The theory goes, that good money is essentially a bubble that can't be popped easily. People compare Bitcoin to the tulip mania, but that is a wrong analogy, given that tulips can be cultivated by anyone to any degree -- whereas Bitcoins are capped by design.

Tulips and gold also don't have built in rock solid transaction protocols

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#24

Post by betterunix »

simplemath wrote: post #17
TylerE wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what the btc crowd has said every time it bubbles How about you guys go 12 months without losing 25%+ of value in a single day before you start talking about being "here to stay".

Again if you're looking at BTC as e-gold you're missing the point. The value is the txn network and that isn't going away. Price volatility is irrelevant to the long term value of it as a transaction vector of last resort for a huge number of applications.

I would not have so much confidence in a system that, in your own words, is a last resort.

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#25

Post by mateuszf »

betterunix wrote: post #19
jaekwon wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a related note, ever heard of the bubble theory of money? The theory goes, that good money is essentially a bubble that can't be popped easily. People compare Bitcoin to the tulip mania, but that is a wrong analogy, given that tulips can be cultivated by anyone to any degree -- whereas Bitcoins are capped by design.

What stops someone from creating their own Bitcoin alternative? Many such systems exist.

The fact that small number of people use it. They will be not a real alternative unless they have some better features than Bitcoin itself.

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#26

Post by eterm »

astrodust wrote: post #10
Fuzzwah wrote: post #8

All those new ASIC miners coming online? The difficulty jump over the last month is intense: http://bitcoindifficulty.com edit: This is a pretty good quick wrap up of what I think is going on here: http://chralash.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/the-new-pseudo-bubb...

If anything that should drive down prices.

Why? It's now harder and harder for the average person to get hold of a bitcoin. That fewer, richer people are now spending money to get more bitcoins isn't going to reduce the price if those players aren't liquidating their bitcoins.

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#28

Post by saalweachter »

Fuzzwah wrote: post #8

All those new ASIC miners coming online? The difficulty jump over the last month is intense: http://bitcoindifficulty.com edit: This is a pretty good quick wrap up of what I think is going on here: http://chralash.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/the-new-pseudo-bubb...

What I always find very interesting is that we had a difficulty jump of ~40% in the last few days, closely followed by a (so far) ~40% increase in price.

Is it crazy to think that BTC are largely supply-bound, and BTC miners have just upped the price to the new barely-profitable level?

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#29

Post by VaucGiaps »

saalweachter wrote: post #28
Fuzzwah wrote: post #8

All those new ASIC miners coming online? The difficulty jump over the last month is intense: http://bitcoindifficulty.com edit: This is a pretty good quick wrap up of what I think is going on here: http://chralash.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/the-new-pseudo-bubb...

What I always find very interesting is that we had a difficulty jump of ~40% in the last few days, closely followed by a (so far) ~40% increase in price. Is it crazy to think that BTC are largely supply-bound, and BTC miners have just upped the price to the new barely-profitable level?

You can't just 'up' a price.

Re: Bitcoin breaks $200

#30

Post by jacoblyles »

mateuszf wrote: post #25
betterunix wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What stops someone from creating their own Bitcoin alternative? Many such systems exist.

The fact that small number of people use it. They will be not a real alternative unless they have some better features than Bitcoin itself.

PPC has better features than BTC, but people haven't heard of it yet[1]. That said, BTC may win by being "good enough" and having a strong network effect.

[1] http://www.ppcoin.org/static/ppcoin-paper.pdf

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