Bitcoin Forum

Just to gain some stability in the bitcoin markets.

One belizean dollar is worth, and has been worth since 1978 $0.50 USD. Since the belizean dollar is pegged at 2 belizean dollars per american dollar.

Makes sense for a country/group of people who have literally no power or authority in the world.

In the next 50 or 100 years I am sure they will divest themselves of that bond. But for the meantime, it seems to make sense.

That's a stupid policy. Why let terrible American monetary policy drag you down, as well?

It's not possible with Bitcoin, anyway, since it's not possible for the system to back BTC with anything (which is required to maintain a fixed exchange rate).

If you want to accept bitcoins as equal to $0.50, go ahead.

The bitcoin community is really going to go places with it's "authority" figures shooting down newcomers ideas as "stupid".

I was not suggesting that we accept the USD forever. I am not suggesting that we peg it at the same rate as Belize does. I am not even suggesting we peg it to USD.

Think about the IDEA for a moment, before you shoot somebody down. Belize is a small economy like Bitcoin (actually, it overshadows the bitcoin economy by almost a factor of 1,000 - but it is still tiny).

Who in their right mind would invest any money in belize if their currency's value fluctuated as wildly as bitcoins?

How old are you, theymos? Seriously.

You can try selling you BTC at a fixed price but there is nothing you can do about the other people selling it cheaper.

Do you think I automatically argue against ideas without thought? I did think about the idea, and I concluded that it would defeat one of the main goals of Bitcoin, which is freedom from bad monetary policy. I don't want my wealth to be controlled by any other entity. I also know that it's impossible to enforce such a policy with Bitcoin.

In the case of Belize, the policy is especially stupid because the US Federal Reserve doesn't care about the effects to Belize when it takes action. (Not that the US ends up much better...) China, which also uses a dollar-backed currency, is suffering from this right now.

The currency of Belize might not fluctuate at all in relation to the dollar, but in relation to gold or other currencies, it's just as bad as the dollar.

Perhaps it might be beneficial for a seller not to base the price of their goods on a frequently changing exchange rate. Why not use a one-week floating average. It sucks to buy something one day for so many bitcoins only to find out that he could have gotten it for a lot less if he had just waited a day.

Who decides the rate and who enforces it ?

What happens to someone if they set a different rate ? Do the bitcoin police pay a visit ?

If you're responding to me: No one but the seller. I think avoiding huge price fluctuations might be a wise thing to do.

What happens to some belizean local who pulls one over on a tourist and charges $1 USD per $1 BZD?

Probably nothing. Buyer beware.

The bitcoin population as a whole. At least for a short while, or as long as we can afford/bear to hold it.

The benefits that a stable rate brings could be phenomenal.

The seller decides what to offer and the customer what to accept, it's kinda a dance (or perhaps it's more like Capoeira?).

I would like to add that Belize is a beautiful country inhabited by nice people and I'm proud to be party Belizian.

The only way Bitcoin can be "pegged" is if there's an extremely wealthy individual that publicly asserts that he will buy and sell Bitcoins at $.50 USD. This person's attempt to peg Bitcoin will last as long as he or she doesn't run out of Bitcoins (at which point the value of Bitcoin will rise)  or US$ (at which point the value of Bitcoin will fall).

This person will have to do this with the understanding that he or she will lose money in this process. The "Pegger" will always be buying Bitcoin above what others will pay and selling Bitcoin below what others will pay. For this reason it's extremely unlikely it will happen.

I think we'd all like a less volatile currency but manipulating it is contrary to the whole idea of Bitcoin.
I like the idea of exchanging at an average but if I'm a business selling a product I don't want to sell something at a loss because the daily rate is below the 7 day average or whatever. I'd prefer to just sell at the current sell price.

I'm sure there is a slightly better way to do it that doesn't screw one side too much.

I think adopting something like a seven day floating average might be a convenient step in between pricing things in USD and then converting to BTC and just pricing things in BTC.

All attempts to control the exchange rate of a currency require a centralized power to buy up the excess supply of one currency or another.  China pegs their currency at an exchange rate lower than where the market clears by spending their own currency to purchase dollar denominated assets.  This increases the supply of Chinese Yuan on the market while increasing demand for US$ which lowers the exchange rate.  It also has the side effect of allowing the Chinese to stockpile vast reserves of US$ denominated assets (usually in the form of treasury bonds).

Bitcoins do not have a centralized power that could regulate the price in this manner nor do they have a revenue source (like the ability to levy taxes) that would enable them to undertake such a policy. 

An individual or group with a lot of money could do it but why would they? I suppose they could find a way to profit out of it but I hate the idea of manipulating the market at all.

I don't think it's possible to profit from such action. As I said in my last post, it would be an extremely money-losing venture because you are by definition buying above market value or selling below market value.

Yeah but if you were able to manipulate it reliably then you could make money. Cause a  run then buy in when it bottoms out and others follow and it goes back up etc.
I'm not an expert on this, just thinking anytime you know which way a market is going you should be able to profit.