Includes a brief mention of "Bit-coin" in reference to the market manipulation that lead to the recent crash of the gold market:
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2013/04/15/how-the-gold-market-was-crashed?ref=hp&t=precious-metals&page=3...Now comes the part that is pure genius or a total coincidental thing that just so happens to be a gift to those who are short the market and those who would be responsible to deliver gold should the inventory deplete.
ALL OF A SUDDEN THE LONDON PHYSICAL PLATFORM THAT BUYS AND SELLS PHYSICAL GOLD GETS LOCKED UP. THE SYSTEM FREEZES.
The screens all freeze.
What does that mean?
No one can get to the physical market to buy at these low prices but at the same time, they can’t sell or protect their positions either. The system is frozen. Yes, just like at Bit-coin. The system locks up. And of course the results are going to be the same, just on a lower percentage level.
What can the physical holders do?...
Sound familiar?
Yes it does. However, I am more apt to atribute the MTGox freeze to incompetence and the gold freeze to manipulation, if only because the gold market is larger and more visible.
Just keep in mind that you should not buy paper gold (or silver) with the expectation that is as stable as physical gold and silver. Like all other silver, the paper gold and silver can be printed fraudulantly. I've yet to hear of gold being sucessfully created in any location other than a aparticle collider (and that at a prohibitive expense). Also, counterfiting physical gold and silver is more difficult to do than with paper or digital gold and silver.
That is enough ranting for me right now.