Bitcoin Forum

Are there a lot of people buying on bitstamp and selling on mtgox?

Getting fiat funds out of MtGox seems relatively more difficult than from Bitstamp, so buying bitcoins on Mtgox to then sell them on Bitstamp can contribute to this discrepancy.

so why do people buy bitcoins on mtgox in the first place?

I would imagine this is the exit strategy to no longer go back to Mtgox. Why they went there in the first place has many answers, but overall it seemed like the best option for them and their service appeared to be better. Over time, it degraded and many had funds already inside the beast.

Moving funds in and out could take longer on MtGox than on Bitstamp.

In the same way that it could take longer to get out of a black hole than out of a pit you just dug in your backyard...yes.

Nobody knows; it's a mystery.

it's famous?  ;D

"Somethin' ain't right here." ???

All things being equal, if there's no catch other than what's been mentioned so far, one could make a fortune simply buying BTC ($743.2) at bitstamp and selling them at MtGox ($813.01) for an instant profit of $60+/BTC, depending on the spread.

That's better than 9% compounded with each series of trades.

Got to be a catch somewhere.

Bitstamp is more reliable, plus if your in the u.s. theres an option for selling BTC for USD unlike MTgox,

It's not really instant profit because of the withdrawls, but give it a go. The catch is its not always as easy as it looks. Have you factored in fees etc?

Mr arbitrage

Getting your fiat cash out of mtgox is a nightmare that can last up to 4-5 weeks. That messes up the arbitrage. By the time youhave the mmoney from selling btc in mtgox the whole situation might have changed.
 What I tried was creating a PLN account in Poland so so that those "fiat transfers" were domestic transfers. But domestic transfers are also having 3-4 weeks delay.

Arbitage at MtGox is pretty much impossible because it can take up to 6 months to get a withdrawal if you live in the US. Their bank limits them to 1000 withdrawals per day TOTAL.

The same reason you opened this thread. They have only ever heard of mt. gox and are unaware of the existence of other exchanges or gox's withdrawal problems. Also they probably don't trust the other exchanges - the thinking goes that bitcoin being cheaper elsewhere is too good to be true and so these other sites must be scam sites.

Because of my avatar.

Supply and Demand. You should look it up.

Arb in my signature

Excellent site

Have you guys noticed theres alot of issues going on with MtGox as in people not getting there BTC? and its not showing up on the blockchain.