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That's not why the price is sinking. It's sinking because Russia banned bitcoin yesterday. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7197173 https://news.ycombinat

by ck2 13y ago

That's not why the price is sinking. It's sinking because Russia banned bitcoin yesterday. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7197173 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7197173 Exchanges are losing liquidity because too many people selling on the news, hence amplifying the price drop.

ye 13y ago
Russia didn't ban bitcoin. It has the same status as every other international currency.
- yebyen 13y ago
  That is not what it says on Slashdot. The article linked there, from Australia itNews[1], says: The Central Bank of Russia considers Bitcoin as a form of "money substitute" or "money surrogate" which is restricted under Russian law. However, unlike use of restricted foreign currencies, Bitcoin has been outright banned. I'll admit I don't read Russian, so I can't provide a more authoritative voice on the subject. On the other hand, Singapore Government Decides Not to Interfere With Bitcoin[2] [1]: http://www.itnews.com.au/News/371774,russia-bans-bitcoin.aspx http://www.itnews.com.au/News/371774,russia-bans-bitcoin.asp... [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6959545 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6959545
  - yebyen 13y ago
    Oops. I meant to link to: Bank of Indonesia changes course, now says Bitcoin is legal[3] [3]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7195146 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7195146
  - ye 13y ago
    The Central Bank doesn't decide on what's legal and what's not. It can say whatever it wants, in the end it's about what the courts say.
  - DateK 13y ago
    "Prosecutor General's Office, the FSB and the Interior Ministry declared war on Bitcoins" http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=ASCII&prev=_t&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http://top.rbc.ru/economics/07/02/2014/903913.shtml http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=ASCII&prev=_t...
eterm 13y ago
Exchanges should not be affected by a loss of liquidity, if exchanges are well managed then a dip in liquidity would just be expressed as a wider margin between their bid and offer prices. The exchanges themselves should have no "skin in the game" and should not be affected by price fluctuations or by liquidity. That's with a lot of should though, and there's little to no transparency in the bitcoin community to suggest whether any or all of those things are fulfilled in the exchanges currently being operated.
- higherpurpose 13y ago
  Agreed. I think only companies like Coinbase lose money in such situations because they keep their Bitcoins stored away.

by ck2 13y ago

ye 13y ago

Russia didn't ban bitcoin. It has the same status as every other international currency.

yebyen 13y ago
That is not what it says on Slashdot. The article linked there, from Australia itNews[1], says: The Central Bank of Russia considers Bitcoin as a form of "money substitute" or "money surrogate" which is restricted under Russian law. However, unlike use of restricted foreign currencies, Bitcoin has been outright banned. I'll admit I don't read Russian, so I can't provide a more authoritative voice on the subject. On the other hand, Singapore Government Decides Not to Interfere With Bitcoin[2] [1]: http://www.itnews.com.au/News/371774,russia-bans-bitcoin.aspx http://www.itnews.com.au/News/371774,russia-bans-bitcoin.asp... [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6959545 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6959545
- yebyen 13y ago
  Oops. I meant to link to: Bank of Indonesia changes course, now says Bitcoin is legal[3] [3]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7195146 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7195146
- ye 13y ago
  The Central Bank doesn't decide on what's legal and what's not. It can say whatever it wants, in the end it's about what the courts say.
- DateK 13y ago
  "Prosecutor General's Office, the FSB and the Interior Ministry declared war on Bitcoins" http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=ASCII&prev=_t&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http://top.rbc.ru/economics/07/02/2014/903913.shtml http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=ASCII&prev=_t...

eterm 13y ago

Exchanges should not be affected by a loss of liquidity, if exchanges are well managed then a dip in liquidity would just be expressed as a wider margin between their bid and offer prices. The exchanges themselves should have no "skin in the game" and should not be affected by price fluctuations or by liquidity. That's with a lot of should though, and there's little to no transparency in the bitcoin community to suggest whether any or all of those things are fulfilled in the exchanges currently being operated.

higherpurpose 13y ago
Agreed. I think only companies like Coinbase lose money in such situations because they keep their Bitcoins stored away.