Bitcoin Prices are Flat Again. Start of a Fiat-like Era?

Wednesday, 05/02/2014 | 10:01 GMT by Leon Pick
Bitcoin Prices are Flat Again. Start of a Fiat-like Era?

Bitcoin (BTC) trading today is seeing little or no price movement, trading tightly about the $920 point for the better part of 24 hours on MtGox.

BTC is trading at $797 on BTC-e and $804 on Bitstamp. In these two venues, prices movements are limited as well, oscillating periodically by a magnitude of 0.5% about their respective mid-points every few hours. MtGox is experiencing the same level of price elasticity, except that the price movements are happening 2-3x more frequently within a given period.

The spread between MtGox and its peers has further narrowed to about $120-125, slightly lower from .

There have been reports that MtGox is now for its clients. Previously, it has been assessed that the wide spread between MtGox and its peers arose from difficulty in withdrawing dollars. Thus, BTC gained in value as demand rose from clients seeking an easier medium of withdrawal. The added difficulty with BTC is making for a "double negative" effect as the appeal for BTC starts to wane.

In general, the mounting issues at MtGox are starting to turn off traders and may be driving them to other major exchanges, which in turn can result in poorer Liquidity on the exchange.

Volume though has picked up well in recent days, once again averaging around 200 BTC per hour today. The coming days will tell if the increase is arising from genuine trading activity or from traders scrambling to find the easiest way out of the exchange.

Meanwhile, as more businesses start accepting the cryptocurrency each day, the more its price begins to fundamentally stabilize in accordance with the economical value of the items it is exchanged for. However, most other Cryptocurrencies have been showing similarly flat behavior of late, and for whom the same argument cannot be made.

Bitcoin (BTC) trading today is seeing little or no price movement, trading tightly about the $920 point for the better part of 24 hours on MtGox.

BTC is trading at $797 on BTC-e and $804 on Bitstamp. In these two venues, prices movements are limited as well, oscillating periodically by a magnitude of 0.5% about their respective mid-points every few hours. MtGox is experiencing the same level of price elasticity, except that the price movements are happening 2-3x more frequently within a given period.

The spread between MtGox and its peers has further narrowed to about $120-125, slightly lower from .

There have been reports that MtGox is now for its clients. Previously, it has been assessed that the wide spread between MtGox and its peers arose from difficulty in withdrawing dollars. Thus, BTC gained in value as demand rose from clients seeking an easier medium of withdrawal. The added difficulty with BTC is making for a "double negative" effect as the appeal for BTC starts to wane.

In general, the mounting issues at MtGox are starting to turn off traders and may be driving them to other major exchanges, which in turn can result in poorer Liquidity on the exchange.

Volume though has picked up well in recent days, once again averaging around 200 BTC per hour today. The coming days will tell if the increase is arising from genuine trading activity or from traders scrambling to find the easiest way out of the exchange.

Meanwhile, as more businesses start accepting the cryptocurrency each day, the more its price begins to fundamentally stabilize in accordance with the economical value of the items it is exchanged for. However, most other Cryptocurrencies have been showing similarly flat behavior of late, and for whom the same argument cannot be made.

About the Author: Leon Pick
Leon  Pick
  • 1998 Articles
  • 5 Followers
About the Author: Leon Pick
  • 1998 Articles
  • 5 Followers

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