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What we're seeing right now is a shakeout of all those unsophisticated individuals who have been purchasing crytocurrencies in growing numbers, mostly without u

by cs702 9y ago

What we're seeing right now is a shakeout of all those unsophisticated individuals who have been purchasing crytocurrencies in growing numbers, mostly without understanding them, and in many cases with borrowed money and even by taking out home mortgages.[a] Those unsophisticated buyers are the ones who pushed the price of Bitcoin from ~$1000 at the beginning of the year to $18000+ a couple of weeks ago.[b] Now they're surely wondering what the heck is happening to them. The question is: who is buying? Remember, for every sale there is a purchase on the other side of the transaction. Trading volumes have grown from around US $2B/day at the beginning of the year to $20B/day right now, excluding Futures volume, which means that there are people or firms buying $20B/day of Bitcoin in the face of a substantial price decline.[c] Who are these buyers? [a] https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/11/people-are-taking-out-mortgages-to-buy-bitcoin-says-joseph-borg.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/11/people-are-taking-out-mortga... [b] https://www.coinbase.com/charts https://www.coinbase.com/charts [c] https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/

aviv 9y ago
My theory is still Saudi Arabia. The government as well as individuals fearing further confiscation of their assets.
- cs702 9y ago
  It could also be Goldman: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/goldman-is-said-to-be-building-a-cryptocurrency-trading-desk https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/goldman-i...
  - aviv 9y ago
    Exactly. No surprise they set up shop there. Two way street is now open. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-saudi/goldman-sachs-gets-approval-for-saudi-equities-trading-license-idUSKCN1B00GP https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-saudi/goldm...
SnowingXIV 9y ago
Sounds like gatekeeping. This isn't uncommon, I've done a fair amount of day trading and I've invested in many companies that I know nothing about aside from the numbers look good. They have healthy financials or it's a pharma company about to get a patent (protip: I know nothing about how they make it or any of the chemistry). That's how people are approaching this and it's/was growing. Now, I would say this is similar to betting on a penny stock that could basically go bankrupt the next day. I've received those letters, fun stuff but it's a gamble. Don't treat it as a 401k or a saving account, it's not. It's speculative 100%.
mrhappyunhappy 9y ago
Or as we call them : normies

by cs702 9y ago

aviv 9y ago

My theory is still Saudi Arabia. The government as well as individuals fearing further confiscation of their assets.

cs702 9y ago
It could also be Goldman: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/goldman-is-said-to-be-building-a-cryptocurrency-trading-desk https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/goldman-i...
- aviv 9y ago
  Exactly. No surprise they set up shop there. Two way street is now open. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-saudi/goldman-sachs-gets-approval-for-saudi-equities-trading-license-idUSKCN1B00GP https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-saudi/goldm...

SnowingXIV 9y ago

Sounds like gatekeeping. This isn't uncommon, I've done a fair amount of day trading and I've invested in many companies that I know nothing about aside from the numbers look good. They have healthy financials or it's a pharma company about to get a patent (protip: I know nothing about how they make it or any of the chemistry). That's how people are approaching this and it's/was growing. Now, I would say this is similar to betting on a penny stock that could basically go bankrupt the next day. I've received those letters, fun stuff but it's a gamble. Don't treat it as a 401k or a saving account, it's not. It's speculative 100%.

mrhappyunhappy 9y ago

Or as we call them : normies