The Great Bitcoin Collapse of 10/17/11

[tacotime]

Well, it was a while coming and I think it's a while to go.

Putting my bets on $2 lows and $2.80 to $3.00 later this evening.

[stryker]

there have been a lot of sells today, there is a thread in the economics section about it

[tacotime]

It's just people cutting their losses on their bitcoin investments, most likely.  These are more the rule than the exception lately.

[proudhon]

In the coming years it will be said that bitcoin came and went in 2011.  There is simply no realistic chance of bitcoin recovering at this point.  I'm not just talking about the price.  I'm talking about people being interested in it.  It's a fascinating project, but most people don't want put money into it when there's a very good chance a large percentage of the value they invest will evaporate.  Sure, if they're active traders they can do ok, but most people don't have the desire or time to sit around and manage their bitcoin investment or a bot.  I'll say it again.  Bitcoin is done.  We have well funded speculators and Bruce Wagner to thank for it.

[tacotime]

In the coming years it will be said that bitcoin came and went in 2011.  There is simply no realistic chance of bitcoin recovering at this point.  I'm not just talking about the price.  I'm talking about people being interested in it.  It's a fascinating project, but most people don't want put money into it when there's a very good chance a large percentage of the value they invest will evaporate.  Sure, if they're active traders they can do ok, but most people don't have the desire or time to sit around and manage their bitcoin investment or a bot.  I'll say it again.  Bitcoin is done.  We have well funded speculators and Bruce Wagner to thank for it.

Bruce Wagner is done.  Bitcoin is inflating at a rate approximate to some South American countries but not Zimbabwe, and, well, all those countries still exist.

Now we may welcome a new, more productive era of speculators and software engineers to fuel the adoption of digital currencies (bitcoin or not) and promote their usage.  If altchain currencies are any indication, people are still interested and perfectly willing to make or lose money on this.

[anu]

In the coming years it will be said that bitcoin came and went in 2011.  There is simply no realistic chance of bitcoin recovering at this point.  I'm not just talking about the price.  I'm talking about people being interested in it.  It's a fascinating project, but most people don't want put money into it when there's a very good chance a large percentage of the value they invest will evaporate.  Sure, if they're active traders they can do ok, but most people don't have the desire or time to sit around and manage their bitcoin investment or a bot.  I'll say it again.  Bitcoin is done.  We have well funded speculators and Bruce Wagner to thank for it.

Bruce Wagner is done.  Bitcoin is inflating at a rate approximate to some South American countries but not Zimbabwe, and, well, all those countries still exist.

Now we may welcome a new, more productive era of speculators and software engineers to fuel the adoption of digital currencies (bitcoin or not) and promote their usage.  If altchain currencies are any indication, people are still interested and perfectly willing to make or lose money on this.

#2
I'd also like the price go lower before I buy.

[brandondayton]

Predicting Bitcoin is vanishing is like predicting the internet would be gone because subscriptions to AOL went down in April of '97

The big mistake here is looking only at the speculative value of Bitcoin. Independent of speculation, Bitcoin has a value inherent in its technology that will only increase over time. The only thing that will make the value of Bitcoin vanish will be a competing technology that does was Bitcoin does, but does it better.

Anything less than that is at worst a speculative blip, and at best a really good time to buy.

[johnj]

Anything less than that is at worst a speculative blip, and at best a really good time to buy.

Or the third option:  BTC goes down so low, that a new,better chain is launched, and BTC never rises again.

Bitcoin isn't what has value - it's the blockchain concept that has value.  Which of course Bitcoin is tied to.  But right now people who invest in BTC aren't investing IN BTC, they're investing in the decentralized blockchain concept.  BTC is a blockchain with X variables at Y levels.  It's yet to be seen (and isn't looking well from where I'm sitting) if those variables in place make for a good, reliable currency.

Or at least that's how I see it.

[proudhon]

I'm beginning to understand that bitcoin's being successful is true in the same way lots of religious claims are true in that there are no practical conditions under which it cannot be successful.  Bitcoin price goes up, successful.  Price goes down, successful, good time to buy.  Nodes go up, successful.  Nodes go down, successful.  Hash rate up, successful.  Hash rate down, successful.  This is, apparently, the most resilient project to failure that's ever been created.

[mobodick]

.... a really good time to buy.

buy? BUY? BUUUUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

[worldinacoin]

It may be a good thing, anything that does not kill you makes you strong.  The selling will wipe out the bears allowing those with more holding powers to stay on.

[anu]

Bitcoin isn't what has value - it's the blockchain concept that has value. 

Bitcoin is the original and it has brand recognition. A different block chain is a cheap knock off. Even if you change the rules.

[proudhon]

Bitcoin isn't what has value - it's the blockchain concept that has value. 

Bitcoin is the original and it has brand recognition. A different block chain is a cheap knock off. Even if you change the rules.

Oh, it has brand recognition alright.

[gewure]

In the coming years it will be said that bitcoin came and went in 2011.  There is simply no realistic chance of bitcoin recovering at this point.  I'm not just talking about the price.  I'm talking about people being interested in it.  It's a fascinating project, but most people don't want put money into it when there's a very good chance a large percentage of the value they invest will evaporate.  Sure, if they're active traders they can do ok, but most people don't have the desire or time to sit around and manage their bitcoin investment or a bot.  I'll say it again.  Bitcoin is done.  We have well funded speculators and Bruce Wagner to thank for it.

you are wrong about that. there are only 21 million coins. everyone wants to have at least one, regardless of the value.

when i first heard about bitcoin, about 6 months ago, my friend told me "but i heard it alreads collapsed in worth cause of some hack or something. maybe we should buy some cause they are very cheap now?!" ..so this is rather subjetiv than objectiv.

and that was months ago! ..in fact you are thinking the big attention for bitcoins is already over, when in fact it did not even really start. it is still "underground". why?! cause everyone heard the word bitcoin, but the fewest can explain what it really is.

take 90% of the media articles about bitcoin: they spend on average feeled 70% of the article explaining what bitcoin is, cause nobody yet really knows, exept some 20.000 on this forum and the mining-geeks.

but_never_take_your_subcultures_stream_for_the_mainstream ! (and the stream here is: "glimpse of doom", "destruction" "the end is near"; while the mainstream-ppl just have heared about bitcoin and don't know anything about it's worth. it simply does not matter to them if they are yet worth 3$ and were worth 30$ before! take into account this informationasymetry!!

[gewure]

Bitcoin isn't what has value - it's the blockchain concept that has value. 

Bitcoin is the original and it has brand recognition. A different block chain is a cheap knock off. Even if you change the rules.

true - there will be no "bitcoin 2.0 - NOW FOR REAL" or something. it defitelly will be BITCOIN, nothing else.

[johnj]

Bitcoin isn't what has value - it's the blockchain concept that has value. 

Bitcoin is the original and it has brand recognition. A different block chain is a cheap knock off. Even if you change the rules.

Tell that to Myspace.

[proudhon]

the mainstream-ppl just have heared about bitcoin and don't know anything about it's worth. it simply does not matter to them if they are yet worth 3$ and were worth 30$ before! take into account this informationasymetry!!

Right, because the "mainstrem-ppl" won't bother looking at price history, or the sentiment on the forums.

[RodeoX]

Ah yes. Bitcoins weekly "death".
 

[nighteyes]

It may be a good thing, anything that does not kill you makes you strong.  The selling will wipe out the bears allowing those with more holding powers to stay on.

Nope....hoarding bitcoins will never work. All that confidence game does is lower lows and lower highs.
No one should do the work for the hoarders...even at 1 cent.

Lets see what the next group of bag holders has to say...this group was amusing, and people like Immanuel Go never did see that they were the ones duped.

[tacotime]

There are plenty of people who trade galangals or soybeans and don't even know what they look like.  Your understanding of something has little to do with the public demand for it.