4 ms·

Zimbabwean Bitcoin Price Soars to $12,400

21 points by ca98am79 9y ago

madamelic 9y ago
> As the Bitcoin price reaches ever higher, many prospective investors become wary of the higher price, making it more difficult for entry-level investors to join the market. I am quite surprised a seemingly crypto-centric news site doesn't know you can buy fractions of a coin. Or maybe I misunderstood what this sentence meant.
- torstenvl 9y ago
  I think it means that it looks more and more like a bubble, so people are less and less willing to buy in the more expensive it gets. It's not about the total amount risked, it's about the total amount of risk.
  - corporateguy5 9y ago
    But this isn't true at all, bitcoin is skyrocketing
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
- dingo_bat 9y ago
  Think of it like when you want to buy a company's stock. If the price has recently increased by a lot, many people avoid it because they think it is overpriced. They don't want to risk buying it at this price. It has nothing to do with being able to buy fractions of a coin.
  - corporateguy5 9y ago
    The price is skyrocketing...
  - 6nf 9y ago
    Why would they specify 'entry level' investors then? That argument would surely apply to all investors, not just the entry level ones.
    - xbmcuser 9y ago
      Because people that already hold bitcoin will still be willing to buy. If you bought bitcoin at $1000 you might still be willing to buy at $8k as that would still price your avg bitcoin price at $4500 and won't be making a loss until bitcoin drops below $4500. Entry level doesnt mean your wealth but you being a first time buyer or entering into the bitcoin market at current prices. Which means when the price goes down you are going to make a loss.
      - schoen 9y ago
        It's not formally economically rational to be affected by history this way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost
      - oxide 9y ago
        past performance is no indicator of future results.
- lojack 9y ago
  Regardless of whether or not this is the intended meaning of the author... I've been following various cryptocurrencies very closely for a while now, and this type of thinking is surprisingly common. It's crazy the number of times I've seen someone argue the total supply of coins is a limiting factor, or that one currency is more successful than another one because the price is higher. I try my best to correct misinformation, but it goes to show how inexperienced some investors in these markets really are.
Plough_Jogger 9y ago
Important caveats for anyone interested in this as an arbitrage opportunity: 1. This exchange is highly illiquid, and has extremely low trading volumes. 2. Other cryptocurrencies are similarly inflated on the exchange. 3. Cash withdrawals are only allowed from the exchange to Zimbabwean banks. These accounts cannot easily be held by non-citizens. 3. Due to a cash crisis, Zimbabwean banks currently have strict USD withdrawal limits of around $50 / day.
- 6nf 9y ago
  Yea no kidding on the low trading volume. Only 118 BTC in the last 30 days. The Aussie exchange BTC Markets is more than a thousand times that.
- Bromskloss 9y ago
  Does the exchange have a web page? Do you have a link to it?
- quickthrower2 9y ago
  "No such thing as a free lunch"
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- ionwake 9y ago
  Is this the same price bitcoin is worth 'on the street' in Zimbabwe?
Btcpx 9y ago
Zimbabwe just ahead of its time. Soon all exchanges will be ay 12400. Where Zimbabwe leads, the world follows.
Btcpx 9y ago
12400 still very low compared to where it will be in a year. This is a bargain.
hasenj 9y ago
I don't understand. Why does the exchange price vary across countries? The whole thing is online.
- thisisit 9y ago
  Lot of reasons - liquidity, risks etc. But mainly because of something called counter party risk. The caveats of selling a bitcoin on Golix exchange has been stated here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15627972 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15627972 So the inflated price is in lieu for the risks someone is taking to withdraw from the exchange. At $50 a day, it will take more than 8 months to even cash out a single bitcoin. By the time someone realises the mistake, the price might have jumped to 15k USD.
Grue3 9y ago
>As the country’s economy grows more unstable, Bitcoin is emerging as the solution to its problems. Deflation of the primary currency is not a good thing for economy either.

21 points by ca98am79 9y ago

> As the Bitcoin price reaches ever higher, many prospective investors become wary of the higher price, making it more difficult for entry-level investors to join the market. I am quite surprised a seemingly crypto-centric news site doesn't know you can buy fractions of a coin. Or maybe I misunderstood what this sentence meant.

torstenvl 9y ago
I think it means that it looks more and more like a bubble, so people are less and less willing to buy in the more expensive it gets. It's not about the total amount risked, it's about the total amount of risk.
- corporateguy5 9y ago
  But this isn't true at all, bitcoin is skyrocketing
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
dingo_bat 9y ago
Think of it like when you want to buy a company's stock. If the price has recently increased by a lot, many people avoid it because they think it is overpriced. They don't want to risk buying it at this price. It has nothing to do with being able to buy fractions of a coin.
- corporateguy5 9y ago
  The price is skyrocketing...
- 6nf 9y ago
  Why would they specify 'entry level' investors then? That argument would surely apply to all investors, not just the entry level ones.
  - xbmcuser 9y ago
    Because people that already hold bitcoin will still be willing to buy. If you bought bitcoin at $1000 you might still be willing to buy at $8k as that would still price your avg bitcoin price at $4500 and won't be making a loss until bitcoin drops below $4500. Entry level doesnt mean your wealth but you being a first time buyer or entering into the bitcoin market at current prices. Which means when the price goes down you are going to make a loss.
    - schoen 9y ago
      It's not formally economically rational to be affected by history this way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost
    - oxide 9y ago
      past performance is no indicator of future results.
lojack 9y ago
Regardless of whether or not this is the intended meaning of the author... I've been following various cryptocurrencies very closely for a while now, and this type of thinking is surprisingly common. It's crazy the number of times I've seen someone argue the total supply of coins is a limiting factor, or that one currency is more successful than another one because the price is higher. I try my best to correct misinformation, but it goes to show how inexperienced some investors in these markets really are.

Plough_Jogger 9y ago

Important caveats for anyone interested in this as an arbitrage opportunity: 1. This exchange is highly illiquid, and has extremely low trading volumes. 2. Other cryptocurrencies are similarly inflated on the exchange. 3. Cash withdrawals are only allowed from the exchange to Zimbabwean banks. These accounts cannot easily be held by non-citizens. 3. Due to a cash crisis, Zimbabwean banks currently have strict USD withdrawal limits of around $50 / day.

6nf 9y ago
Yea no kidding on the low trading volume. Only 118 BTC in the last 30 days. The Aussie exchange BTC Markets is more than a thousand times that.
Bromskloss 9y ago
Does the exchange have a web page? Do you have a link to it?
quickthrower2 9y ago
"No such thing as a free lunch"
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ionwake 9y ago
Is this the same price bitcoin is worth 'on the street' in Zimbabwe?

Btcpx 9y ago

Zimbabwe just ahead of its time. Soon all exchanges will be ay 12400. Where Zimbabwe leads, the world follows.

Btcpx 9y ago

12400 still very low compared to where it will be in a year. This is a bargain.

hasenj 9y ago

I don't understand. Why does the exchange price vary across countries? The whole thing is online.

thisisit 9y ago
Lot of reasons - liquidity, risks etc. But mainly because of something called counter party risk. The caveats of selling a bitcoin on Golix exchange has been stated here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15627972 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15627972 So the inflated price is in lieu for the risks someone is taking to withdraw from the exchange. At $50 a day, it will take more than 8 months to even cash out a single bitcoin. By the time someone realises the mistake, the price might have jumped to 15k USD.

Grue3 9y ago

>As the country’s economy grows more unstable, Bitcoin is emerging as the solution to its problems. Deflation of the primary currency is not a good thing for economy either.