Bitcoin Arbitrage

[smashpt]

Hello Fellas,

I'm 'new' in Bitcoin Market's so I needed to ask you a question that I got about BTC Arbitrage.

I wanna do BTC Arbitrage from BTC-E to another BTC Market which the price is higher than the btc-e. So, I would buy btc at 'small price' on btc-e and sell it later on another market at higher price. But, after sell the BTC at higher price, I need to withdraw it in real cash and spend it later on btc-e again, aight?


Sorry, if it makes no-sense or whatever, but since I'm a beginner, I need to learn
Thanks

[keithers]

Search "arbitrage" on this forum and you will find a lot of threads referencing this. I'm assuming you probably mean that you want to send it to Gox where the price is way higher. People have been having problems getting money off of that site for quite awhile now.

[smashpt]

Search "arbitrage" on this forum and you will find a lot of threads referencing this. I'm assuming you probably mean that you want to send it to Gox where the price is way higher. People have been having problems getting money off of that site for quite awhile now.

I didn't mentioned Gox because of that, and also they are with delay for validating accounts. But i will search here on forum. Thanks m8

[keithers]

Search "arbitrage" on this forum and you will find a lot of threads referencing this. I'm assuming you probably mean that you want to send it to Gox where the price is way higher. People have been having problems getting money off of that site for quite awhile now.

I didn't mentioned Gox because of that, and also they are with delay for validating accounts. But i will search here on forum. Thanks m8

no problem.  Arbitrage is a great idea in theory, but the timing has to be perfect, and often times while you are sitting there hitting refresh over and over (waiting for transaction to confirm), the price will shift and you will lost the profit margin that you wanted, since it's not like a mortgage interest rate that you can lock for any period of time...

[keithers]

I must have the most posts for a "newbie" on this forum lol. I think I am stuck as newbie forever!

[5thStreetResearch]

You need to consider the delay involved with transferring coins from one exchange to another.  It becomes risky business then.

[smashpt]

You need to consider the delay involved with transferring coins from one exchange to another.  It becomes risky business then.

Yea that's one point also. It's like 30 min - 1 hour to transfer btc's between one website to another.

But, BTC Arbitrage, still can be profitable without mt.gox?

[Rannasha]

If you're waiting to transfer coins when doing arbitrage, then you're doing it wrong. You need to have fiat-money on the cheap exchange and coins on the expensive exchange and make the 2 trades (buy low, sell high) as close to eachother as possible. Any delay means you're exposing yourself to exchange-rate fluctuations (which can be beneficial or detrimental).

The opportunities for arbitrage are very, very minimal.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

If you're waiting to transfer coins when doing arbitrage, then you're doing it wrong. You need to have fiat-money on the cheap exchange and coins on the expensive exchange and make the 2 trades (buy low, sell high) as close to eachother as possible. Any delay means you're exposing yourself to exchange-rate fluctuations (which can be beneficial or detrimental).

The opportunities for arbitrage are very, very minimal.

Unless you live close to an Bitcoin ATM.

[smashpt]

If you're waiting to transfer coins when doing arbitrage, then you're doing it wrong. You need to have fiat-money on the cheap exchange and coins on the expensive exchange and make the 2 trades (buy low, sell high) as close to eachother as possible. Any delay means you're exposing yourself to exchange-rate fluctuations (which can be beneficial or detrimental).

The opportunities for arbitrage are very, very minimal.

I though I could make some profit with that, but it's hard nowadays then...
Bitcoin ATM would be awesome to do that kind of thing's. argh

[12648430]

If you're waiting to transfer coins when doing arbitrage, then you're doing it wrong. You need to have fiat-money on the cheap exchange and coins on the expensive exchange and make the 2 trades (buy low, sell high) as close to eachother as possible. Any delay means you're exposing yourself to exchange-rate fluctuations (which can be beneficial or detrimental).

The opportunities for arbitrage are very, very minimal.

Unless you live close to an Bitcoin ATM.

A Bitcoin ATM is not going to sell at a price that can be appreciably arbitraged unless its operator feels like giving away money.

[vadoff]

Markets with higher prices almost always have a reason for it.
Low trade volume, large delays in cashing out (weeks to even over a month), caps on how much you can cash out per day/month, etc.
Some exchanges also impose fees on cashing out (1-2%).

With such large delays in between reinvestments, there's also a chance that bitcoins could go up or down 20%+.
Meaning a lot of missed chances at potential huge profits that you would've had otherwise.

As quoted, arbitrage is like picking up nickels in front of steamrollers. You can make some small profits, but there's a chance you'll be crushed.

[5thStreetResearch]

yea the arbitrage window has pretty much closed up in past 2 months

[techgeek]

If you're waiting to transfer coins when doing arbitrage, then you're doing it wrong. You need to have fiat-money on the cheap exchange and coins on the expensive exchange and make the 2 trades (buy low, sell high) as close to eachother as possible. Any delay means you're exposing yourself to exchange-rate fluctuations (which can be beneficial or detrimental).

The opportunities for arbitrage are very, very minimal.

Unless you live close to an Bitcoin ATM.

This is probably the best advice. Every other person mentioning other exchange is a load of crap.

What good is money, when its tied up at an exchange waiting for like 3 months..

[Sonny]

If you're waiting to transfer coins when doing arbitrage, then you're doing it wrong. You need to have fiat-money on the cheap exchange and coins on the expensive exchange and make the 2 trades (buy low, sell high) as close to eachother as possible. Any delay means you're exposing yourself to exchange-rate fluctuations (which can be beneficial or detrimental).

The opportunities for arbitrage are very, very minimal.

Unless you live close to an Bitcoin ATM.

A Bitcoin ATM is not going to sell at a price that can be appreciably arbitraged unless its operator feels like giving away money.

The Bitcoin ATM Has a Dirty Secret: It Needs a Chaperone
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2014/01/bitcoin_atm/

[keithers]

If you're waiting to transfer coins when doing arbitrage, then you're doing it wrong. You need to have fiat-money on the cheap exchange and coins on the expensive exchange and make the 2 trades (buy low, sell high) as close to eachother as possible. Any delay means you're exposing yourself to exchange-rate fluctuations (which can be beneficial or detrimental).

The opportunities for arbitrage are very, very minimal.

Unless you live close to an Bitcoin ATM.

Yes, the above is one of the ways you could effectively arbitrage. I have seen the margins evaporate so many times while I was waiting for bitcoin or litecoin network confirmations.

[Bitvik]

I had also looked at bitcoin arbitrage between the various exchanges (especially vis-a-vis Mt.Gox), but it is really difficult to withdraw USD from Mt.Gox (5-6 week delays) and the exchange rate and wire transfer fees would cut into any price differentials. The other western bitcoin exchanges are much closer in price so very difficult to make any significant arbitrage profits unless you have a vast sum of working capital.

[keithers]

This thread is kind of an oxy moron where it is posted (in "beginners help").  In my opinion, arbitrage shouldn't be attempted by beginners

[Zickafa]

The opportunities for arbitrage are very minimal unless you live close to an Bitcoin ATM.