Looks like Bitcoin's bubble has burst

by Ben Reilly Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:02 pm

Bitcoin took a pounding in the last 24 hours, dropping below the $500 mark on the popular Mt.Gox exchange before rebounding. As TechCrunch’s John Biggs wrote this morning, “China’s biggest Bitcoin exchange, BTCChina, has stopped accepting deposits in Chinese yuan,” which added to the currency’s decline.

However, the fall of Bitcoin’s value has been underway for some time, making the Chinese news merely component to the larger story: Bitcoin is losing momentum.

What pushed Bitcoin to $1,200 is the precise quantity that is taking it down. Hype, media interest, and speculative hope drove it up, and a lack of hype, media disinterest, and falling speculative buys are driving it down.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/18/the-bitcoin-swan-dive-was-utterly-predictable/

I think what attracted many Bitcoin owners to the currency is that they're anti-government types eager to demonstrate a currency model that didn't depend upon government regulations, etc. The fact that the value of Bitcoins has bounced all over the place shows, I think, precisely the problem with such a currency, as this happened to pretty much every currency before governments took action to stabilize their value.

by Ben Reilly Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:03 pm

Imagine waking one morning to find that the value of your dollars, pounds or euros was only half what it was the day before!

by Cantankerous Thu Dec 19, 2013 8:59 pm

Ben_Reilly wrote:Imagine waking one morning to find that the value of your dollars, pounds or euros was only half what it was the day before!

you mean like britain did after 13 years of labour?

by Cantankerous Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:02 pm

bitcoins certainly are volatile and any people buying them now need some nerve, but they have gone from near worthless to over $1200 and back again but they are still, well at the moment, worth $500 or so, not exactly in the dump just yet.

they will work as long as they can be used.
Personally I don't think I would buy just at the moment, although they could just as easily double again as halve. I wish I had bought a few quids worth when they first came out as I could be living the high life now.

by Irn Bru Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:03 pm

Cantankerous wrote:
Ben_Reilly wrote:Imagine waking one morning to find that the value of your dollars, pounds or euros was only half what it was the day before!
you mean like britain did after 13 years of labour?

If that happened to you then you must have done something seriously wrong

Laughing

by Ben Reilly Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:16 pm

Yeah, cantankerous, I'm talking about your currency, not your investments. Two totally different things.

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