Increased BTC Demand Next Week

[datz]

Now that Bitcoin has hit the mainstream press (Yahoo!), we will see increased demand and rising prices for Bitcoin. Curious investors have no doubt opened new Dwolla accounts by now and are waiting for verification (by Monday or Tuesday). By Wednesday, thousands of new individuals will have USD in their new Mt. Gox and TradeHill accounts. The sheer amount of stores selling real goods for Bitcoin verifies the currency. I would not be surprised if Wall Street investors started joining the fray. On Late Tuesday or Wednesday I expect to see a surge in the market. What worries me is that one big investor or early holder could manipulate the market like in the Wild West days of the U.S. stock market.

Anyone know how to get data on number of new Dwolla, Mt. Gox and TradeHill accounts being made?

[forests]

Speculation like this is likely to drive the market up.  While it may seem good to be getting all this press, the negative attention from US senators and the labeling of bitcoins as a hacker's currency by the guardian makes bitcoins seem like something illegal.  The public doesn't understand the concept, and with the cryptography aspects it's likely to never understand it.  I think what we'll continue to see will be biased and uninformed reports, including fear mongering about the illicit drug trade, money laundering, and about a potential pyramid scheme.

[darkskypoet]

Sadly, its a question of when some entity tries to make it illegal, tax the crap out of it, or pursues methods of attacking its liquidity. Hopefully the international scope of the BTC market will stall those attempts... but really, its a case of the EU and US attacking those who allow trades from/to established currencies and BTC. Otherwise, its quite difficult to stop it, or hurt it to any great extent. However the lack of liquidity with what most outsiders will see as 'real currency' is the largest danger to the BTC-verse. It then becomes an issue of coincidence of need based on vendors that can pay suppliers, or obtain enough other items of interest with BTC to continue accepting them.