Help me to understand current BTC fluctuation

[haitispaceagency]

because its not backed by gold or silver thats why it fluctuates more then the dollar and euro

[01BTC10]

because its not backed by gold or silver thats why it fluctuates more then the dollar and euro

?

[piramida]

because its not backed by gold or silver thats why it fluctuates more then the dollar and euro

I understand you spent last 70 years in a cave, but please catch up with humanity first Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money

[humanitee]

Because greed.

[SkRRJyTC]

Because greed.

and fear.

[humanitee]

Because greed.

and fear.

Truth.

[thezerg]

barbstap, you are the perfect candidate to lose $ trading b/c you self-admit to not having much of a clue.  My advice: Sell what you can't afford to lose now, but sell as little as possible.  Forget about the rest, don't pay any attention to the market b/c you seem unable to handle the stress of the volatility.  Check back 5 years from now; your coins will be worth either 0 or a LOT! 

Consider your BTC investment a long term diversification -- currently all of your worth is likely denominated in your local govt currency or strongly tied to it (land inside your country for instance).  If you own a worldwide currency like BTC, that is no longer true.

[rpietila]

The aggregate liquidity is not a tad greater if the volume were distributed in 10 exchanges, in fact, quite the opposite.

My opinion is that the fluctuations and instabilitiy is caused first of all by the centralization of Bitcoin USD trading at MtGox.

That exposes the entire Bitcoin system to the artistry of every pump-and-dump team that operates at MtGox.

It's great for the professional speculators, but it's not good for the system as a whole.

However, given the usual human herd mentality this idiotic situation persists.

Serves everyone right who continue to perpetuate the trading centralization around MtGox. So, party on! 

[imanikin]

This point is invalid, I am sorry. All exchanges are already artbitraged and have been for couple of years.
...
Welcome to the future where bots trade for us.

This point is not true; i am sorry. If they were really arbitraged that long, the volumes and spreads would tend to equalize, the cheaper exchanges would gain volume, etc. A 1000 exchanges would have to be all preloaded with fiat, because it's not as easy as B to move...

Welcome to the world where there is no exchange transparency, and MtG first and foremost has significant incentive to trade against itself.

Reasonable people can disagree on this though; if 70-80% of a "fully-decentralized"  currency trading at 1 exchange is ok with you, then run with the herd and party on! 

[Odalv]

This point is invalid, I am sorry. All exchanges are already artbitraged and have been for couple of years.
...
Welcome to the future where bots trade for us.

This point is not true; i am sorry. If they were really arbitraged that long, the volumes and spreads would tend to equalize, the cheaper exchanges would gain volume, etc. A 1000 exchanges would have to be all preloaded with fiat, because it's not as easy as B to move...

Welcome to the world where there is no exchange transparency, and MtG first and foremost has significant incentive to trade against itself.

Reasonable people can disagree on this though; if 70-80% of a "fully-decentralized"  currency trading at 1 exchange is ok with you, then run with the herd and party on! 

I'm not sure there is 1,000 traders trading Bitcoin :-) now.

[Piper67]

I'll help you OP: Bitcoin values fluctuate... live with it.

[Odalv]

It will stop fluctuate when reach real value $1,000,000 USD / BTC.

[Mike Christ]

It will stop fluctuate when reach real value $1,000,000 USD / BTC.

This

[Stn]

Would you expect something as new and fast-growing as Bitcoin to have a stable exchange rate?

Oxymoron detected!

[Stn]

My opinion is that the fluctuations and instabilitiy is caused first of all by the centralization of Bitcoin USD trading at MtGox.

It happens exactly opposite because there is no centralization going on. Fiat money kept more or less stable because national banks uses their reserves to prevent currency move too much. Stable rate is important for everyday trade. There is none to do so with Bitcoin. It would jump and fall all the time if it would only speculation reasons. Hence it grows all the time.

[evoorhees]

My opinion is that the fluctuations and instabilitiy is caused first of all by the centralization of Bitcoin USD trading at MtGox.

That exposes the entire Bitcoin system to the artistry of every pump-and-dump team that operates at MtGox.

It's great for the professional speculators, but it's not good for the system as a whole.

However, given the usual human herd mentality this idiotic situation persists.

Serves everyone right who continue to perpetuate the trading centralization around MtGox. So, party on! 

You are completely misinformed about this. MtGox has actually been losing centralization since 2011. It used to comprise about 85% of the market, now it's probably around 60%

But even if everything centralized at MtGox, that still doesn't mean that price would become more volatile. It might indeed mean less volatility, because one larger market means greater liquidity and a smoother trading experience with lower spreads.

There's also nothing wrong with people gathering to one exchange for their trades. It is not efficient to have a million exchanges. Some degree of centralization is market-efficient and we should let the market make that determination (which it's doing).