Live data from Hacker News

Bitcoin hits $200

bitcoincharts.com

1–10 of 106 posts

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#2
Wasn't it like $130 a few days ago? This kind of inflation is really cool for the people invested in bitcoins but this is the point where I would panic sell, but perhaps I'm a coward.

EDIT: Link's down, it was $203 at 12.06 GMT.

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#4
Is it safe for me to express my belief that Bitcoin value is being manipulated by forces who intend to crash it? I've stayed away from it simply because of that. I fear some people are in for a very rude awakening. Don't count your money just yet -- and, for god's sake, don't try to use it as the basis for any paper money loans! None of you knew about Stuxnet. The story of Bitcoin's infiltration and manipulation is years away from being revealed.

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#5
The problem with bitcoin is 1 or 2 events that give the public a 'scare' have the potential to nearly floor the usd value.

All it takes is one headline on CNN like "Joe Blow selling Anthrax and Cyanide on Silkroad/Craigslist for Bitcoins" for the general public go to fucking apeshit and cause some real 3 letter organizations to shutter most bitcoin exchanges with secret subpoenas and such.

Realistically, there is so much dependency on mtgox, once it went down I believe the price of bitcoins would likely be 10x less than it is currently.

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#6
post #5

The problem with bitcoin is 1 or 2 events that give the public a 'scare' have the potential to nearly floor the usd value. All it takes is one headline on CNN like "Joe Blow selling Anthrax and Cyanide on Silkroad/Craigslist for Bitcoins" for the general public go to fucking apeshit and cause some real 3 letter organizations to shutter most bitcoin exchanges with secret subpoenas and such. Realistically, there is so…

Almost everyone new to Bitcoin already has heard every scare story about drugs, money laundering, tax evasion, viruses, hackers, conspiracy etc. The news about DDoS or stolen money will not be a huge surprise (unless ALL money is stolen at once :-)

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#7
Does anyone have a link or justification in anyway for the rise in the conversion rate? I like the idea of an independent (non-government), secure currency - but I can't see this as anything other than a speculation driven investment vehicle. Seems like tulip mania to me [1].

Also, is there any management of Bitcoin to prevent excessive currency fluctuations? Not having this would seem to be a flaw to me - you can't have an exchange-based economic system without some expected stability in the value of the exchange.

[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#8
post #4

Is it safe for me to express my belief that Bitcoin value is being manipulated by forces who intend to crash it? I've stayed away from it simply because of that. I fear some people are in for a very rude awakening. Don't count your money just yet -- and, for god's sake, don't try to use it as the basis for any paper money loans! None of you knew about Stuxnet. The story of Bitcoin's infiltration and manipulation is y…

Really? Should we talk about $$$ manipulation?

We all know about the world finance industry. We all know how corrupt it is and how fucked-up things really are. Yet discounting Occupy - which was violently suppressed anyhow - I don't see people in on the streets demanding to burn down Wall Street to ashes.

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#9
post #4

Is it safe for me to express my belief that Bitcoin value is being manipulated by forces who intend to crash it? I've stayed away from it simply because of that. I fear some people are in for a very rude awakening. Don't count your money just yet -- and, for god's sake, don't try to use it as the basis for any paper money loans! None of you knew about Stuxnet. The story of Bitcoin's infiltration and manipulation is y…

Who do you have in mind? I don't see anyone who wants Bitcoin to crash desperately enough to spend millions on inflating a bubble and then pop it - which is a very risky and costly plan. More likley would be a scenario in which someone who holds a lot of Bitcoins pushes MtGox prices upwards in order to be able to sell OTC at inflated prices. However, given that Bitcoin on MtGox has a volume of USD 20 million daily, this takes a lot of resources. It is much easier to manipulate a low-volume stock on the stock market.

Re: Bitcoin hits $200

#10
post #7

Does anyone have a link or justification in anyway for the rise in the conversion rate? I like the idea of an independent (non-government), secure currency - but I can't see this as anything other than a speculation driven investment vehicle. Seems like tulip mania to me [1]. Also, is there any management of Bitcoin to prevent excessive currency fluctuations? Not having this would seem to be a flaw to me - you can't…

If everyone's intention is just to buy low and sell high, then it's a tulip mania. But if there are people who would be satisfied with a stable price, or price above their investment amount, or ability to buy stuff for it, then it is not just a tulip mania.

Bitcoin price was pretty stable during 2012. Some people used it as a "store of wealth". Now, you still can use it for the same purpose, but you have to bid up the price a little to take a piece of it.

Post reply on HN