Do the Banks manipulate Bitcoin?

[klee]

So the guy in this video claims it gonna fall around 15$ when banks start to short:

http://www.thebitcoinchannel.com/archives/661
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qBuJEwsmdik)

What is your opinion about this? And for comparing bitcoin with silver?

Are they the sharks and most of us the fish that gonna be eaten? 

PS: I am a hoarder having faith who did not sell in the first bubble burst in 2011 nor in the last two corrections...

[Odalv]

So the guy in this video claims it gonna fall around 15$ when banks start to short:

http://www.thebitcoinchannel.com/archives/661
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qBuJEwsmdik)

What is your opinion about this? And for comparing bitcoin with silver?

Are they the sharks and most of us the fish that gonna be eaten? 

PS: I am a hoarder having faith who did not sell in the first bubble burst in 2011 nor in the last two corrections...

Bank can go short when have Bitcoin, If you have no Bitcoin then you cannot selll Bitcoin under market price. First!,  you have to buy, then you can sell under market price ... will this make money for bank, let's try bank and shorting are welcome. :-) (this will only stabilize price)

[Qoheleth]

First!,  you have to buy

Or, borrow.

Of course, that means...

Are they the sharks and most of us the fish that gonna be eaten? 

If they're the sharks, the true believers lending them BTC to short with (and extracting heavy interest in exchange) are shark-farmers.

[justusranvier]

Bank can go short when have Bitcoin, If you have no Bitcoin then you cannot selll Bitcoin under market price.

Not quite true. For example, all Mt Gox trades take place within their internal database. It is theoretically possible for them to allow a customer to sell bitcoins they don't actually have. The scam could be covered up for a long time unless their customers regularly withdraw their entire Bitcoin balance. If everybody demanded their Bitcoins at the same time it would quickly become apparent if they had sold more bitcoins than they actually had, and the scheme would unravel very quickly.

Note that if you have a large BTC balance at Mt Gox you aren't allowed to withdraw it all at once, which is a very good reason to keep your bitcoins in your own wallet instead of theirs.

[klee]

If a bank wants to buy/sell/short (or whatever) bitcoins, how is it gonna justify these transactions to the regulators?
I am sure they can find many ways to cover their traces and appear legit but still find it hard to believe they can perform big volume illegitimate transactions (which can 'crush' bitcoin economy) without being noticed. Or it is just that the btc market cap is a joke for Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan...

I hope my writings make sense because English is my second language!

[Odalv]

First!,  you have to buy

Or, borrow.

Of course, that means...

Are they the sharks and most of us the fish that gonna be eaten? 

If they're the sharks, the true believers lending them BTC to short with (and extracting heavy interest in exchange) are shark-farmers.

+1 we will see what you do. :-)

[Odalv]

First!,  you have to buy

Or, borrow.

Of course, that means...

Are they the sharks and most of us the fish that gonna be eaten? 

If they're the sharks, the true believers lending them BTC to short with (and extracting heavy interest in exchange) are shark-farmers.

+1 we will see what you do. :-)
[/quote

see = hear, fell and see (just free market)

[afbitcoins]

I don't trust my bitcoins with any third party, learned my lesson with bitcoinica.

[silverfuture]

Bitcoin is going to pwn the banks. It will be funny.

edit- OP... I am in a similar savings (hoarding is for liberals!) situation as you in holding pre-bubble '11 coins.  I invested only what I can afford to lose but bitcoin fucking rocks and it is money worth saving. Thank you every one who participates...you are changing the world for the better.

[HBBZ]

I don't trust my bitcoins with any third party, learned my lesson with bitcoinica.

MMM，i'm taking my coins at mtgox back to my local wallet now. Thanks for the risk alert.

[Bitcoinpro]

the banks manipulation of bitcoin makes the manipulation of gold and silver look like NOTHING

[granolageek]

the banks manipulation of bitcoin makes the manipulation of gold and silver look like NOTHING

Alternatively, one can move Bitcoin by dollars with 1/10 the money fiat it takes to move gold or silver by cents.

[oakpacific]

Maybe after the price crash several times, yet fully recovers each time, there will be slightly more people willing to admit that people are buying bitcoins because they are useful, not that they want to profit from a pyramid scheme?

[zebedee]

If a bank wants to buy/sell/short (or whatever) bitcoins, how is it gonna justify these transactions to the regulators?

Beyond miners, bitcoin doesn't have regulators.

What do they need to justify and why?

Cool isn't it?

[malevolent]

Bank can go short when have Bitcoin, If you have no Bitcoin then you cannot selll Bitcoin under market price.

Not quite true. For example, all Mt Gox trades take place within their internal database. It is theoretically possible for them to allow a customer to sell bitcoins they don't actually have. The scam could be covered up for a long time unless their customers regularly withdraw their entire Bitcoin balance.

If everybody demanded their Bitcoins at the same time it would quickly become apparent if they had sold more bitcoins than they actually had, and the scheme would unravel very quickly.

I doubt it. Then they would suddenly ask everyone to send them all of the documents that are always necessary when the system flags an account as potentially criminal or if someone wants a higher withdraw limit. During the time they could claim to be 'processing' the documents they could buy back enough bitcoins for people to withdraw. They would pay less because after driving the price down they would be able to buy them cheaper.

[justusranvier]

I doubt it. Then they would suddenly ask everyone to send them all of the documents that are always necessary when the system flags an account as potentially criminal or if someone wants a higher withdraw limit. During the time they could claim to be 'processing' the documents they could buy back enough bitcoins for people to withdraw. They would pay less because after driving the price down they would be able to buy them cheaper.

An excellent reason not to keep bitcoins parked at an exchange.

[klee]

If a bank wants to buy/sell/short (or whatever) bitcoins, how is it gonna justify these transactions to the regulators?

Beyond miners, bitcoin doesn't have regulators.

What do they need to justify and why?

Cool isn't it?

Damn English! 

I mean banks trying to hide 'money laundering' actions from the government and the like (tax offices). I know this is ridiculous to say though (banks being actually the government)!

[RodeoX]

if/WHEN banks get involved, they will eat most of us alive. Banks are not going to act irrationally the way many peers do. They don't care about politics and are not going to fall for FUD. They do the math and that is why they are going to beat the pants off a typical bitcoiner.

[afbitcoins]

I don't trust my bitcoins with any third party, learned my lesson with bitcoinica.

MMM，i'm taking my coins at mtgox back to my local wallet now. Thanks for the risk alert.

I think you've made the right choice, its not quite as convineint if you want to sell them as you'd have to deposit them back with the exchange but the tradeoff in peace of mind is worth it.

As long as you trust yourself you look after them

[losangeles]

If a bank wants to buy/sell/short (or whatever) bitcoins, how is it gonna justify these transactions to the regulators?

Beyond miners, bitcoin doesn't have regulators.

What do they need to justify and why?

Cool isn't it?

Damn English! 

I mean banks trying to hide 'money laundering' actions from the government and the like (tax offices). I know this is ridiculous to say though (banks being actually the government)!

For the record, your English is flawless.  And yeah I was just thinking today about the anti-money laundering regulations that some exchanges have, just like banks.  Similarly, I wonder if people making a profit from investing in bitcoin are liable for capital gains tax, and if so, how many people would actually report it. 

Kind of off-topic to the issue of banks, but it's another legal concern for the bitcoin economy.