[OFFICIAL]Bitfinex.com first Bitcoin P2P lending platform for leverage trading

[Timetwister]

WTF? FRR for BTC is only 0.0155% daily. That's about 5% per year after fees.

Look at the bright side, its very cheap to short bitcoins! and we are in a down trend...

Considering that bitcoin inflation is still about 10% per year, you are indeed paying a negative real interest for them. It would be interesting if you could then withdraw the BTC that you short on Bitfinex.

Quite sure swap providers wouldn't find it too funny 

Um, well. Now we are talking about Bitcoin inflation. One of the major arguments for Bitcoin was the absence of inflation. Now where this beast (the inflation) came to this movie without me noticing it?

As long as money supply increases, there's inflation. And right now we are still having about 10% yearly inflation. Take a look at the following charts: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=130619.0

In some years, inflation will be so low that it'll be irrelevant, but for the moment it's still something considerable.

[21pilot]

is short-selling / margin trading Litecoin (LTC) possible?
Or is this only available for Bitcoin?

[bjornw]

is short-selling / margin trading Litecoin (LTC) possible?
Or is this only available for Bitcoin?

LTC is also possible

[BitBits]

Just in case anybody in this thread have not heard about the latest news on Bitcoin adoption by PayPal, here is the Bloomberg article outlining this:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-08/ebay-s-paypal-unit-to-start-accepting-bitcoin-payments.html
It is almost hard to believe that from a rival and a strong opponent of Bitcoin, PayPal themselves became the adopt.
What it basically means in simpler terms is that merchants and their customers who are using PayPal  (152 million registered accounts !!!) will now be able to seamlessly transact via Bitcoin. Considering that Ebay/PayPal is the world's biggest marketplace, this is a huge positive news for Bitcoin innovation to which however market has not yet reacted.

It does looks like the price is now stabilizing at the current levels (we are no longer bouncing off those 1K+ BTC walls), so I really think we are on the verge of some very interesting times for Bitcoin.

[noggin-scratcher]

Have 'finex fixed that annoying thing where swaps end up fragmented as they get taken, or have I just gotten lucky lately? My list of open swaps (that I'm providing) has gotten much shorter lately; more taken in a few large chunks rather than a spray of dozens of tiny pieces.

[BitBits]

Have 'finex fixed that annoying thing where swaps end up fragmented as they get taken, or have I just gotten lucky lately? My list of open swaps (that I'm providing) has gotten much shorter lately; more taken in a few large chunks rather than a spray of dozens of tiny pieces.

I no longer see them as of late.

[gog1]

the hodler were wiped out in the last 'correction' - and we are still in that downtrend

interest rate may go up again should we get a rally but I just don't see one coming.

wide spread adoption causes more downward pressure - there's currently few incentives for the average joe to go buy BTC and spend it vs using credit card to buy things online.

[BitBits]

... wide spread adoption causes more downward pressure...

I think this is a major misconception.
People who are spending Bitcoins for goods tend to replenish their holdings, so whatever the amount of coins that merchants are not holding, goes back to these people.
Major positive factor related to the adoption spread is the exponential increase in number of people being directly exposed to Bitcoin. That is, new people are not just hearing some news reports about Bitcoin, but they are seeing its actual use in real life.
About the "incentives for the average joe", it is mainly in the very human nature. "Joe" will first of all see an investment opportunity (...vs. credit/debit cards that can be used to spend ONLY).

[DoubleSwapper]

Have 'finex fixed that annoying thing where swaps end up fragmented as they get taken, or have I just gotten lucky lately? My list of open swaps (that I'm providing) has gotten much shorter lately; more taken in a few large chunks rather than a spray of dozens of tiny pieces.

I no longer see them as of late.

Have 'finex fixed that annoying thing where swaps end up fragmented as they get taken, or have I just gotten lucky lately? My list of open swaps (that I'm providing) has gotten much shorter lately; more taken in a few large chunks rather than a spray of dozens of tiny pieces.

I thought so as well because I had a very short list some time ago but you were just lucky. The problem is still there and if you have a sizable offer it will get absolutely shredded. Yesterday my list blew up to over 500 entries because of one single offer. I cannot imagine how long the lists of people with significant sums on bitfinex must be.

Also: Congrats to BITFINEX! This thread was practically dead for nearly a week. This means that BFX is working very, very smoothly at the moment. I hope you guys keep innovating a bit though. Please think about adding Euro and SEPA. International Wire Transfar is a pain in the ass. I thought about transfering some more funds to bitfinex but the low interest rates in combination with the high conversion and bank fees make it not really worth it.

[Ente]

Also: Congrats to BITFINEX! This thread was practically dead for nearly a week. This means that BFX is working very, very smoothly at the moment.

Yes, I agree, the platform runs smoothly.

Still, there are like half a dozen questions still open here. Important questions too, like about "insurance" and "legal status". No FAQ yet, and generally no Bitfinex folks writing here for weeks.

There where more posts, more info and closer communication with Giancarlo.

I hope this is still acclimatization time and not sit-it-out time.

Ente

[Dalmar]

I thought so as well because I had a very short list some time ago but you were just lucky. The problem is still there and if you have a sizable offer it will get absolutely shredded. Yesterday my list blew up to over 500 entries because of one single offer. I cannot imagine how long the lists of people with significant sums on bitfinex must be.

Also: Congrats to BITFINEX! This thread was practically dead for nearly a week. This means that BFX is working very, very smoothly at the moment. I hope you guys keep innovating a bit though. Please think about adding Euro and SEPA. International Wire Transfar is a pain in the ass. I thought about transfering some more funds to bitfinex but the low interest rates in combination with the high conversion and bank fees make it not really worth it.

Even if they accepted SEPA, they would probably implement a system similar to bitstamp which screws you on a bad forex conversion rate.
The cheapest way to transfer amounts under 25K euro is just to buy it on Kraken and then transfer it to your USD exchange of choice.

[itsproblem2]

Ente (as always) has some good points!

Also what happened to the announced "Swap Bot", is this still planned?
This was somewhat controversial in here.

[itsproblem2]

Sepa implementation would be very nice. It would bring finex much closer to European regular guys and overall it will give other excahnges an even harder time.

[noggin-scratcher]

Even if they accepted SEPA, they would probably implement a system similar to bitstamp which screws you on a bad forex conversion rate.
The cheapest way to transfer amounts under 25K euro is just to buy it on Kraken and then transfer it to your USD exchange of choice.

This gets even more painful from the UK - my choices to move cash to 'finex are an expensive international wire and a crappy GBP/USD exchange rate, or a somewhat less expensive SEPA transfer and a crappy GBP/EUR rate, followed by a crappy EUR/USD rate, and a trading fee each way going in/out of bitcoin plus any losses to slippage or price movements.

First decent exchange with "Faster Payments" support gets my business forever...

[BitBits]

USD swap rate is getting "flat" and thin on lower % offers.
Are lenders beginning to move to their trading phase?
 

[SalemB]

Even if they accepted SEPA, they would probably implement a system similar to bitstamp which screws you on a bad forex conversion rate.
The cheapest way to transfer amounts under 25K euro is just to buy it on Kraken and then transfer it to your USD exchange of choice.

This gets even more painful from the UK - my choices to move cash to 'finex are an expensive international wire and a crappy GBP/USD exchange rate, or a somewhat less expensive SEPA transfer and a crappy GBP/EUR rate, followed by a crappy EUR/USD rate, and a trading fee each way going in/out of bitcoin plus any losses to slippage or price movements.

First decent exchange with "Faster Payments" support gets my business forever...

As a fellow Brit I use Netagio, they are an exchange based in the UK, and their main business is converting GBP to BTC (or gold bars!).
Their order book is a bit empty and you will need to validate your address / bank account. But they do make getting BTC a lot easier if you have British bank account.

[bbbbbb2014]

Just in case anybody in this thread have not heard about the latest news on Bitcoin adoption by PayPal, here is the Bloomberg article outlining this:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-08/ebay-s-paypal-unit-to-start-accepting-bitcoin-payments.html
It is almost hard to believe that from a rival and a strong opponent of Bitcoin, PayPal themselves became the adopt.
What it basically means in simpler terms is that merchants and their customers who are using PayPal  (152 million registered accounts !!!) will now be able to seamlessly transact via Bitcoin. Considering that Ebay/PayPal is the world's biggest marketplace, this is a huge positive news for Bitcoin innovation to which however market has not yet reacted.

It does looks like the price is now stabilizing at the current levels (we are no longer bouncing off those 1K+ BTC walls), so I really think we are on the verge of some very interesting times for Bitcoin.

I am glad that this happened. But you're probably aware that alternative Bitcoin processors emerged (BitPay), so I assume, the competition forced them into such actions.

[bbbbbb2014]

USD swap rate is getting "flat" and thin on lower % offers.
Are lenders beginning to move to their trading phase?
 

Lenders like will not go under 0.04% for a given day,  under any circumstances.

[Timetwister]

USD swap rate is getting "flat" and thin on lower % offers.
Are lenders beginning to move to their trading phase?
 

Lenders like will not go under 0.04% for a given day,  under any circumstances.

Why not? 0.04% per day (0.034% after fees) is still quite high. As long as lenders trust Bitfinex, I can see interest rates going even lower.

[noggin-scratcher]

As a fellow Brit I use Netagio, they are an exchange based in the UK, and their main business is converting GBP to BTC (or gold bars!).
Their order book is a bit empty and you will need to validate your address / bank account. But they do make getting BTC a lot easier if you have British bank account.

Interesting. I'd come across them before and been turned off by their FAQ. Specifically the mention of "To prevent fraudulent activity and to protect ourselves as well as our customers, we impose a withdrawal wait time on the money that you deposit in your account", paired with the detail page that lists a delay of 3+ weeks if you want to withdraw 100% of your balance.

Seemed kinda sketchy to be imposing long waits like that. How has your experience been with them?

Also...

Lenders like will not go under 0.04% for a given day,  under any circumstances.

First I thought I wasn't going to go under 0.05% under any circumstances. Then I thought I wasn't going to go under 0.04% under any circumstances. That's already turned out to not be true so I'm just hoping supply/demand doesn't push us down to 0.03% because it's become apparent that no-one's going to really draw a line in the sand (or if not 'no-one', then not enough people).