Bitcoins are not a stable currency?

[Flora]

I just read "Got a decent windfall of BTC, what to do?" and it gave me some new information. I thought that Bitcoins were worth whatever they were worth - had a fixed price or fixed USD equivalent - but apparently the worth of Bitcoins fluctuates! What do you think about this fact? I was wanting to use Bitcoins but now I don't feel that using them would be especially safe because what if I made the incorrect choice about at what value to buy or sell? That seems tricky for people who don't play the stock market. I think that Bitcoins are just what we need - finally, something new! But apparently they aren't going to be as simple to use as I thought.

[nimda]

The price of everything fluctuates. Even the dollar.

If you're in it to use bitcoins, rather than to speculate on them, just dollar-cost-average to purchase them.

[hek92]

Bitcoin is not a stable currency.It was at 154 few days ago but now it is 120 so it involves risks but for the time it is good.

[MoonShadow]

The price of everything fluctuates.  One reason that Bitcoins appear unstable is because your frame of reference is (probably) a different currency, such as the US dollar.  Another reason that Bitcoin appear unstable is because they have a small market capitalization (i.e. the total exchange value of all of the bitcoins together) relative to those other currencies that they exchange with.  The latter effect will diminish as the Bitcoin-using economy grows, but will never completely vanish.  The previous effect is actually an illusion caused by perspectives.  For example, once upon a time the US $ was backed by, and therefore held a fixed exchange rate with gold.  Gold is money, currencies are just widely accepted coupons.  If you take an ounce of gold as your fixed perspective, the relative value of every fiat currency on earth has been pretty volitile over the past decade.  Not as volitile as Bitcoins, but Bitcoins are a fiscal experiment that isn't even five whole years old yet, and doesn't yet have a user base even as large as the Monegasque franc.

[tspacepilot]

Yeah, so I can only agree with the other posts here.  We have to expect that the price of anything can fluctuate.  If the price of bitcoin was fixed to the price of something else, it would still fluctuate as that other thingy does.  I don't see anything around fluctuating prices as long as the world keeps on turnin'

[makebitcoin]

There are still a ton of BTC to be mined so you can't be sure that it will rise in short term.
In the long term I have some trust in BTC since it has a great community behind it.
If more businesses start implementing Bitcoin at a fast rate I think you can be sure that future is bright for Bitcoin.
At the moment though the currency is unstable.
There have been huge value fluctations in the short term excistence of Bitcoin.
A lot of factors are unknown.
By investing in BTC you are basicly making a risky investments comparable to stock options.

[tondaS]

The price of everything fluctuates. Even the dollar.

If you're in it to use bitcoins, rather than to speculate on them, just dollar-cost-average to purchase them.

Thats true, USD fluctuates pretty high to my standard, Euro

[MAbtc]

If you talk to people around here, the value can only go up, uP, UP! So.... that means buy BUY BUY! 

 

[mobile]

I forget where I read this but its interesting to see at times the correlation of the value in the USD and BTC. When the USD is trending downward there are times well see BTC trend upward.

http://thegenesisblock.com/want-to-know-where-btc-prices-are-going-watch-usd/
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=240008.0

[wachtwoord]

I just read "Got a decent windfall of BTC, what to do?" and it gave me some new information. I thought that Bitcoins were worth whatever they were worth - had a fixed price or fixed USD equivalent - but apparently the worth of Bitcoins fluctuates! What do you think about this fact? I was wanting to use Bitcoins but now I don't feel that using them would be especially safe because what if I made the incorrect choice about at what value to buy or sell? That seems tricky for people who don't play the stock market. I think that Bitcoins are just what we need - finally, something new! But apparently they aren't going to be as simple to use as I thought.

If something is worth a constant amount of dollars it's value is indeed not constant but declining. Actually declining quite rapidly as well.

[mobile]

I just read "Got a decent windfall of BTC, what to do?" and it gave me some new information. I thought that Bitcoins were worth whatever they were worth - had a fixed price or fixed USD equivalent - but apparently the worth of Bitcoins fluctuates! What do you think about this fact? I was wanting to use Bitcoins but now I don't feel that using them would be especially safe because what if I made the incorrect choice about at what value to buy or sell? That seems tricky for people who don't play the stock market. I think that Bitcoins are just what we need - finally, something new! But apparently they aren't going to be as simple to use as I thought.

If something is worth a constant amount of dollars it's value is indeed not constant but declining. Actually declining quite rapidly as well.

+1

[BitCoiner2012]

I think it's fantastic. Everything is floating even if you don't know it - USD is a massive, "managed" currency. Your perspective is more of a relativity thing.

The more you learn about Bitcoin, the more you'll like it.

[herzmeister]

who'd stabilize the stabilators?

BTC is a decentralized currency, no one can control it and fix it to anything. It will eventually stabilize (while still slowly appreciating in value) once it has achieved sufficient adoption.

[AntiOps]

who'd stabilize the stabilators?

BTC is a decentralized currency, no one can control it and fix it to anything. It will eventually stabilize (while still slowly appreciating in value) once it has achieved sufficient adoption.

Thats not entirely true. Any bank at the moment can easily buy a game changing amount of BTC and control it. Its finite, so in theory it is controllable.

[bitcoinapps]

It is very unstable, it was 15$ once then 0$ the other day.

[MoonShadow]

who'd stabilize the stabilators?

BTC is a decentralized currency, no one can control it and fix it to anything. It will eventually stabilize (while still slowly appreciating in value) once it has achieved sufficient adoption.

Thats not entirely true. Any bank at the moment can easily buy a game changing amount of BTC and control it. Its finite, so in theory it is controllable.

Only if they are willing to do so at a loss, and the potential for loss is infinite.  And their loss would likely be others' gain.  Let them try.

[blisscan]

It might be the case that bitcoins are more stable than other currencies.

Other currencies depend on central authorities that do all kinds of stupid and nasty things. Bitcoin has shown to be predictable. The number of bitcoins increase closely following a pre-arranged plan. Transactions work as expected. No one's account is "frozen". No one has forbidden to donate bitcoins to wikileaks.

With bitcoin, we create the money and we are in control. The community that created it and backed it is remarkably smart. With other currencies, there are central authorities that create and control the money, and the rest of us have to work for them.

[marcovaldo]

If something is worth a constant amount of dollars it's value is indeed not constant but declining. Actually declining quite rapidly as well.

It depends on the reference. If something is worth 10 dollars now, and it is fixed, it will be worth 10 dollars in 2 years, and it will be constant.


What you mean is that the dollar is inflating, and such the value of the object should decrease over time. Which is wrong.


The first and most severe dollar deflation was during the depression from 1818-21 when prices of agricultural commodities declined by almost 50%.
The second was the depression of the late 1830s to 1843, following the Panic of 1837, when the currency in the United States contracted by about 33%, a contraction which is only matched by the Great Depression.


It is not because you wrongly believe that the dollar value will always decrease, that it is true.

[sasuke234]

yes, bitcoin is a very unstable currency. It only increases in value over the long term.

[marcotheminer]

Bitcoin is not a stable currency.It was at 154 few days ago but now it is 120 so it involves risks but for the time it is good.

Most currencies fluctuate ALOT more than bitcoins, so thinking about this, Bitcoin is actually a pretty trustworthy and stable in today's terms.