Bitcoin Forum

There hasn't been any good news from the Bitcoin market in about a month now.

I've just been watching the value slowly decrease every day.

It's a lot more disheartening than the sudden drops we've seen in the past because with those we know that what drops fast can go up fast too.

But Bitcoin has not risen fast in quite a while.

It still feels like the bubble is deflating and it seemed to many that the wall at $100 would hold it. But that doesn't seem to be the case and unless something good in Bitcoin news happens soon I fear it will continue to deflate with no bottom in sight. Bitcoin needs to something exciting to generate interest in it again but I don't know what that it is or when it is coming. :(

Maybe Bitcoin needs to rest and develop a little before we ramp up on unfilled promises again?  :-\ :-*

Such lament already and yet the bear market in Bitcoin has only barely begun!

It's not a disaster; it is an opportunity.

Less than $100 per BTC = fire sale. Get onto it. :)

It's been a bear market for a month now. Bitcoin likely can't survive another extended bear market. Those of you who want cheap coins be careful what you wish for.

Your perspective seems pretty short and shallow.

The chances of bitcoin actually succeeding are very slim. Very few people actually use bitcoin and even fewer haven even heard of it. We need to build some momentum if it's ever going to succeed.

Bitcoins have actually become much harder to trade in the past couple of months (no more dwolla on mtgox, and no more usd mtgox bank transfers) and it is still way to hard for the average person to obtain bitcoins. And many of the Bitcoin promises (bitcoin ATM, bitinstant debit card, paypal and western union looking into bitcoin) have yet to become reality.

There doesn't seem to be much on the horizon for bitcoin right now other than increased government regulation.

...which it was designed to be resistant to from the get go. Governments seem more interested in the fiat side of centralized exchanges, because they can regulate that. But the exchange market will trend toward decentralization in the long term and that will bode well for bitcoin. Of course, that doesn't mean the BTC spot price will retest the ATH next month or anything like that: it will be a bumpy ride anyhow, and I acknowledge the distinct possibility of bitcoin value falling to zero.

i don't think you've invested a lot of time in understanding what's going on with btc .. there's a lot besides regulation. many new companies are coming out this year. lots of money that's been invested into innovation. the common person does not know TCP/IP yet uses it everyday.

Yes, but bitcoin has no use for most people. Even myself. I cant see why I would ever want one, outside of trading. At least for now.

"A store of wealth" seems like grasping at straws.

Sure, I won't deny I hold a small amount of bitcoin speculatively. But I have been known actually to buy real stuff with it, even when the exchange rate was $10.

I read these forums everyday. I read Bitcoin news everyday. I mine and I trade bitcoins almost everyday. I follow bitcoin about as closely as you can.

The problem with it is indeed everything right now is just news. Coinlab promised us a new, awesome, easy-to-use exchange. Where did that go? Where is my bitcoin ATM? Where is my bitcoin debit card? There are two restaurants in my area that accept bitcoins but those have been doing that for months with no signs of anymore jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon. All these startups getting funding is great, but until their ideas come to fruition bitcoin is going to mean nothing to the average joe.

When my girlfriend needs cash to take the bus to come see me, I still have to western union her money and pay 10%. She has a bitcoin wallet and I can send her bitcoins but are useless to her.

The current $100 bitcoin price is already based purely on speculation on what is to come. Some of these promises need to become reality and we need some more good news coming up to keep interest up. The first thing that needs to happen is a decent exchange for those of us who wish to trade bitcoins for US dollars. CampBX is the closest we have but they are horribly slow and buggy even when there is no volume and they could never deal with any reasonable amount of volume.

mgio, gox is releasing a new trading engine shortly - finally (we'll see what happens)

There is not much use for it yet.  Although we are going to be saving a good amount of money in a month or so when we travel out of the country.  We will just meet up with someone using localbitcoins.com and exchange our btc for fiat and save some money on the exchange fees.  It is just one way some of us can already find some usefulness for bitcoin.

A currency needs to be stable for people to use, instead of speculation. 2016 btc will be halved again.

I have some very very awesome news... Well at least I think so. But I'm keeping it under my hat until somebody exposes it or I think BTC has hit bottom and I want the price to surge.

I'm actually amazed that nobody's mentioned it, some people would know... Anyway let it ride and let them dump so I can make some $

2$ --> 30$ --> 10$ --> 260$ --> 100$ --> $$$$ --> $$$ --> $$$$$ --> $$$$
This is Bitcoin!

By then we'll price in MBTC or BTM and it'll still be single or double digits. ;)

FIXED:

2$ --> 30$ --> 10$ --> 260$ --> 100$ --> 90$ --> $$ --> $ --> $$

So it can startup from nothing, gain global attention, but if the price drops for a long time, then it will burn to nothing, not the first time, but the second time?  
Yeah, seems likely....   ::)

"Bitcoin is dead" - Wired, Nov 2011 (~$2) :D

The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin  (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/mf_bitcoin/)

Epic read, just as epic as what I like to consider the foundational Silk Road thread (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=175.0) (I always wondered what nick Dread Pirate Roberts uses in these forums) :D

Just more sellers than buyers on the exchanges. Volume has been pretty low compared to earlier in the year also, so those sellers are having a disproportionate effect on prices.

Long term, I think the price was mostly speculative based on the potential of bitcoin. Because nothing signficant has happened in the past month, the exchange rate has been leaking lower to reflect the current reality. But I don't see any reason why we won't have those great services and uses for bitcoin within the next year. If you can afford to hold on for 6-12 months, the price will be right back up there.

I'm not saying that bitcoin is dead. But if Bitcoin drops to <$30 again, it's going to take a lot longer to recover to >$100 (years perhaps) if it ever does.

Why? Do you have empirical proof or analysis to share or its just a "gut feeling"?

Yes. This.

I might seem like a bear but I still hold >1000 BTC and I have no plans to sell anytime soon.

There are no empirical proofs or analyses and anything who tells you otherwise is simply bullshitting you.

There are no fundamentals for bitcoin. You can't analyze is that way!

Bitcoin right now is almost entirely speculatory That means it is only worth what people think it is worth. A drop in price is VERY BAD for bitcoin's acceptance. People wll begin to worry and pull out. And people who have lost a significant amount of money in bitcoin will turn away and near look back. That is just more potential bitcoin users that will never be on our side again. And since bitcoin was once at $266, if it goes back to $30 that will mean there will a lot of people that will have been burnt. And most of them will never come back.

What is best for bitcoin now is for more and more people to get involved and the price to rise. What is worst for bitcoin now is for people to lose faith, flee, and let the price drop. Bitcoin dropping is basically undoing all the work that has been done in the last 6 months getting us to this point.

Inflating the bubble a third time will be even harder. Bitcoin in the news won't be enough anymore. People are already tiring of hearing about bitcoin in the paper but never seeing anything real come from it.

THis isn't a simple dip either. Bitcoin has lost 10% of it's value in the past 24 hours. I know this is that unusual, but we've have a period of slow and steady decline for over a month now and pretty much nothing good happen when it comes to price.

BS. Bitcoin already lost 1/16th of its value in 2011, and raised stronger shortly after. Bitcoin is not only a penny-stock market, a commodity prone to speculation, it's a revolutionary concept that empowers people and that has huge appeal because it solves real, day by day problems, being a trust free and decentralized system to transfer value.

Plus, it has his own exclusive applications, for example Silk Road, that couldn't exist without a Bitcoin-like crypto currency. Bitcoin is the most perfect way to transfer value without relying on a trusted third party that has been created until today. That remains, regardless of boom and bust cycles.

Bitcoin potential is not related to exchange rate swings. BTC is nw in a bear, just because it is a commodity-like asset and after a bubble you get despair and capitulation, but this is just the very beginning of this game.

People has short memory. All those that now turn their backs to BTC, will be replaced by bigger investors in the next hype cycle. Do not underestimate the need for freedom.

Yes, because we live in the dark middle ages.

Cheezes. A significant fraction of the people have heard of it. Still, only a percent of a percent uses it.

My opinion, the next boost will come when VC-funded companies start releasing the awesome products and services they have in the works now.

What is taking them so long!!!  ??? I am a little impatient!

Welcome back proudhon, evolve