Sellers' Poll

[DrYe5]

Bonus essay question: Why do you feel the current price is good?

[stic.man]

one more option:

"i bought when they were 10 cents each, i'm slowly liquidating"

[Alex Beckenham]

Not that I'm selling, but I suspect you'll need an option something like this:

"because I urgently need the fiat cash so I'll take what I can get for it, even though $17 is crappy price".

[DrYe5]

one more option:

"i bought when they were 10 cents each, i'm slowly liquidating"

Not that I'm selling, but I suspect you'll need an option something like this:

"because I urgently need the fiat cash so I'll take what I can get for it, even though $17 is crappy price".

Both of these fall under "stable price".

[datguywhowanders]

I'd like an option for I'm holding for now.

[DrYe5]

I'd like an option for I'm holding for now.

Fixed.

[datguywhowanders]

Thank you.

I know people say difficulty isn't related to price, but my gut, as technical as it is, tells me that BTC is worth more than $17 right now. I don't think it's worth the $30 it peaked at, although it may be someday.

I'm not in a rush to get rid of my coins, so I'll wait for one of two things:

1) The price goes up to a point I'm comfortable selling at in the current atmosphere
2) More vendors begin accepting BTC and I find myself drawn to spend them

In the meantime, I'll enjoy watching the market

[Vandroiy]

My option is missing... I guess you all think it's ludicrous, so nobody considered adding it?

I'm speculating. I thought there's a fair chance the price would drop, so I sold.

My sell average was well above 17 USD though... most of my coins changed owner in those two extreme upward spikes to 20+. Was a good decision. But right now I'm not so sure, so I just watch what happens. If things remain undecided, maybe I wander off and buy some options on metals while you guys sort out things here. I like Bitcoin though, if the speculation mania dies down and they become usable and secure on Android, I might buy a few again to be able to trade with my friends the geeky way.

Oh, of course I kept enough to pay pledges and such things no matter where prices go. Not that my puny 20 or 30 BTC bounty will motivate the android developers much, but I gotta keep my promises.

[ErgoOne]

Why are you selling?
* I got Gox'd!
* Always selling a bit.
* Recoup mining setup costs.
* Recoup mining operating costs.
* Stable Price = Sell
* I'm not. Holding for now.

* I have a skill I sell for dollars, so why not bitcoins?

Oh, you meant why are you selling BITCOINS? 

I'm not.  D*mm*t, Jim, I'm a writer, not a currency trader.

Seriously, if you want the Bitcoin economy to go anywhere, you need to be selling, not bitcoins for dollars and dollars for bitcoins, but goods and services for bitcoins.  *That* is where the real value of a currency system is in what you can buy for units of that currency.  That's when it quits being a means to "get rich quickly" (and lose it just as quickly), and becomes something of enduring value.

[Alex Beckenham]

Not that I'm selling, but I suspect you'll need an option something like this:

"because I urgently need the fiat cash so I'll take what I can get for it, even though $17 is crappy price".

Both of these fall under "stable price".

How is "I'm selling because I urgently need the cash" any way similar to "I'm selling because the price is stable"?

[Vandroiy]

Seriously, if you want the Bitcoin economy to go anywhere, you need to be selling, not bitcoins for dollars and dollars for bitcoins, but goods and services for bitcoins.  *That* is where the real value of a currency system is in what you can buy for units of that currency.  That's when it quits being a means to "get rich quickly" (and lose it just as quickly), and becomes something of enduring value.

Hehe... wise words. But sadly, a tragedy of the commons. Most people just try to get rich on the others' supportive work on Bitcoin, so in the end, real trade and organizing is a mess.

But the speculation mania was (or maybe still is) an awesome game. Very simple rules, yet hard to master, played on an ever-changing environment -- and with real stakes in there. I found it a neat thrill and a grand show. I was prepared to lose all when I entered, but it appears fortune was on my side.

There's a time limit on it though. The extreme version we've had so far only works during exponential growth, and afterwards, those who lose will not be likely to join in again. So it must finish at some point; afterwards, you will get stable prices and a clear view on actual trading once more. Just be patient, speculation mania cannot last forever. Though I must admit: there were historical cases where it lasted for years, and sometimes, insane prices were reached.

I doubt I will enter again before I see the cycle completed. Hell, the earnings here are measured as a factor rather than in percent; it was a once-in-a-lifetime hit. Wanting even more would push my luck.

[DrYe5]

Fixed and reset.

[ascent]

I know people say difficulty isn't related to price, but my gut, as technical as it is, tells me that BTC is worth more than $17 right now. I don't think it's worth the $30 it peaked at, although it may be someday.

I think this statement is rather silly. You're saying it's worth more than $17, but you don't think it's worth $30, but perhaps someday it will be. The difference between $17 and $30 is negligible - white noise. From the moment to moment market valuation, yes, it's worth about $17 right now. But that is based on nothing more than the fact that people are willing to trade it for $17 right now, which is based on nothing more than the fact that people are willing to trade it for that, which is based on nothing more than the fact that people see people are trading it for that, and so on.

The only reason it did not hold at $30, and I stand firmly behind this statement, is because from everyone's relative perspective, $30 seemed high relative to prior prices. Relativity was and is the only reason that $30 seems high. Bitcoins could just as easily trade at $200, if from a relative perspective, they settle in at that price. There would be little fundamental reason to dispute it one way or another. All one can do is say we'll have to wait to see how they pan out in the future.

Tell me, if the market was exhibiting behavior exactly as it is, but the price was multiplied by five, would you be saying $17 is low and $30 is high? If your answer is yes, then you must provide some fundamental reason why you believe so based on the total summed value of all Bitcoins right now. If your answer is no, then you admit that your statement is based on nothing more than relativism.

From a fundamental perspective, in which there are countless possible scenarios out there, Bitcoins are worth anywhere between half a cent and perhaps as much as $10,000 or more in the future.

[datguywhowanders]

I did provide a reason... my gut instinct. If you don't like it, follow your own. 

[Vandroiy]

Let's do an even more fundamental perspective.

We're on an asset primarily hoarded for speculation right after a media hype. Indicators (Web reach, search trends, forum activity, media attention) all point toward a beginning decline in said hype. We have no market, the price curve showed us the first half of a classic crash and stopped primarily as the main exchange was hacked, which further worsened the tone in media. There is no noteworthy goods-trading market or other support of any kind.

Now, volume is starving, and even with a lot of possibly overconfident people still in, the strange spike-buyer yesterday could not even temporarily push price up. Bid history depth is slowly declining since yesterday, and a fairly large block of bids might be the last thing keeping people from selling.

I didn't have much BTC left on mtgox, but now it's a round, single digit. Seriously, if I did bet wrong on that one, there's no way I will have a bad conscience. The only time I saw a larger down arrow on this was when it started fluctuating around 30 after some insane exponential trend.

Edit: While I wrote this, another price drop happened, and volume is now increasing again. I did not see this before I sent this post. I guess it's needless to say that might rule out the "we all just sit here freezing things" outcome.

[evolve]

holding. the market is too flat for me to make any money now.  bought in a little higher than id like (@ 16.49) on the last cycle before the crash...holding with limit orders at 18, 19, and the bulk of it at 20 and looking to buy in now from 15.5 down to 10.

but everything is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too flat for me right now....i bought in to the market to take advantage of volitility....if it stays this flat, ill just store the money in btc until the the next boom or bust.