Coinbase to MtGox Arbitrage Plan

[WattBurner]

Long time reader first time poster.

I'm very interested in attempting arbitrage via Coinbase to MtGox.

I'm well aware of MtGox's international bank wire withdrawal backlog. How long are the domestic Japanese banks deposits from Gox taking? I've read a few forum users claim it only takes a few of days, is this true?  I have a trusted Japanese friend currently living in the U.S who has a Japanese bank account.

What if......

I buy 50 BTC on Coinbase everyday...

My friend starts a Gox account and Sells my bitcoins on Mtgox...

deposits funds to Japanese domestic bank account...

Japanese friend wires funds to my US bank account, or potentially, my friend's Japanese bank may have a branch in US linking to Japanese domestic account allowing us to width drawl cash in US.

With the current $10 price spread, we'll make $500 per transaction minus bank/Gox fees. Will this work??? Can my friend open a MtGox account using an US ip address or does it need to be a Japanese IP address? What tax liability is there for this kind of activity? Is there a daily transaction amount I should stay under to not piss off US bank.

If anyone has any anecdotal experience executing a similar process, please share and thanks in advance.

~ WattBurner

[Coin Arc]

I am also curious about this, there seems to be a huge arbitrage opportunity here. Unfortunately month long withdraw makes it difficult to predict prices haha. Maybe try your luck with some smaller exchanges?

[fluxium]

I have been waiting for 2 weeks so far to receive my CAD withdrawal from Mt.Gox. I am told by a banking professional here in Canada that after your first transfer it is supposed to get faster but I have not noticed that. From what I can see in the withdrawal options a Japanese Domestic transfer is very quick. I think that the tricky bit will be the withdrawing. If your Japanese friend has to wire you the money its going to take a while. I think it is unlikely that the Japanese bank will allow you to withdraw USD.

[WattBurner]

How long can a wire transfer take from a Japanese bank to a US bank? No more than 3-5 business days right?

[Alexis]

If only I was Japanese right now.

[millsdmb]

Why doesn't coinbase just sell all of their BTC on gox instead of to us?

This whole arbitrage thing can not be as easy as everyone thinks, or the prices would be stabilized.

[WattBurner]

Yes, I'm aware I won't get the 50 btc from coinbase instantly(takes about a week I believe) but I already have 50 btc in hand ready to start the process. I'd sell 50 on Gox and buy 50 more from coinbase to lock in the gains, if all goes well get my $$$ via my Japanese friend by the time I receive my 50 btc from coinbase and then repeat the process every week.

[WattBurner]

Maybe Coinbase doesn't arbitrage because they don't have any close Japanese friends...