Does MtGox artificially keep the price high?

[Frizz23]

Is MtGox working like a stock exchange? imho no. Because, unlike a stock exchange, MtGox has only one instrument to trade. Bitcoin.

Whereas a stock exchange does not really care whether Apple goes up and IBM goes down - and vice versa - MtGox has a vested interest in Bitcoin to go up. Because that's all they have. If Bitcoin is dead MtGox is dead. If Bitcoin is at 3$ they get 1.5cent fees. If Bitcoin is at 300$ they get 1.5$ fees.

Which makes me think: Does MtGox do some kind of, lets call it, price management. To keep the price up ...

[Come-from-Beyond]

Does MtGox do some kind of, lets call it, price management. To keep the price up ...

Yes

[naphto]

Yes of course why do you think that they said a few days ago that the money in was larger than the money out?

[grue]

yes, mtgox is controlled by the bitcoin illuminati. now sell your bitcoins because it's all a scam 

[Come-from-Beyond]

yes, mtgox is controlled by the bitcoin illuminati. now sell your bitcoins because it's all a scam 

Good job man. My list of Gox sock puppets keeps growing.

[dooglus]

If Bitcoin is at 3$ they get 1.5cent fees. If Bitcoin is at 300$ they get 1.5$ fees.

What does this even mean?

The price of bitcoin doesn't matter.  If I want to transfer $100 and bitcoins are trading for $1 each, I need to buy 100 of them.  If they're trading for $100 each, I only need to buy one of them.  Either way MtGox get the same fees.

The only time it would make a different is if someone wanted a specific number of bitcoins for some reason, but that doesn't happen yet.  Because the price is so volatile people tend to still think in fiat currency and convert to bitcoin, rather than pricing things directly in bitcoin.

[Frizz23]

What does this even mean?

OK grandpa, I'll make it nice and simple for you.

Look at this cake:




MtGox gets 0.05% of this cake.

How big do you think this piece was in May 2012. And how big in April 2013?

[dooglus]

MtGox gets 0.05% of this cake.

Do you have a source for that assertion?  And how often are you claiming that they get this 0.05% of the market cap?

[liquidplaya]

I think they do make more money the higher the price. From people like me, I used to buy and sell my whole account which was worth $10,000..
but now its worth $60,000.
Everytime I buy or sell it they get that .4%...
I haven't added any money.. I just keep doubling my account by selling when its high and buying when it crashes...