Price of Bitcoin Tumbles | Newyork Times

[Coinbuddy]

The price of Bitcoin fell nearly 20 percent this weekend to its lowest level of the year, prompting worries of a crash.

“As the price is going down, some of us are under immense psychological stress,” one user posted on Reddit on Sunday. “Please share how you cope with it.”

On Sunday afternoon, Bitcoin was trading at about $300, up from a low of $286, according to CoinDesk, a virtual currency website.

Some contend that Bitcoin’s price is irrelevant and that it does not reflect the virtual currency’s true value. Bitcoin is still most popular among speculators and technology enthusiasts and has yet to find a general use that will push it into the mainstream and help stabilize its price, they say.

Bitcoin’s recent price decline can appear jarring, but it is nothing new. Indeed, some say the wild price swings have hindered the virtual currency’s widespread adoption.

Since it was introduced in 2009 by an anonymous programmer, or group of programmers, the price of Bitcoin has fluctuated unpredictably. After reaching its peak of about $1,150 late last year, the price has been in a prolonged slide. In August, a flash crash briefly set the currency world on edge, as the price dipped on one exchange to just over $300 from nearly $500. Bitcoin ended that day down about 12 percent.

“For anyone complaining about the current price of Bitcoin, remember it has more than doubled over the last 12 months,” Roger Ver, a Bitcoin enthusiast and investor, said in a Twitter message on Sunday.

But even those most confident in Bitcoin are having trouble explaining the recent decline.

One reason for the drop could be uncertainty over potential regulations. In July, New York became the first state to propose regulations for Bitcoin companies. The comment period for the regulations, which were introduced by the Department of Financial Services, is set to end on Oct. 21.

Bitcoin has attracted the attention of a number of other regulatory agencies in the United States, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.

The increase in the number of merchants now accepting Bitcoin could also be affecting the price. These merchants, including Overstock and Dell, use third-party payment processors like Coinbase to immediately convert Bitcoin to dollars. This means there are more Bitcoins in circulation, which could be helping to drive down the price.

Some say simply that the market has been distracted with other events, including the Alibaba Group’s initial public offering and the recent surge in the United States dollar.

Against this backdrop, there have been questions about whether Bitcoin can become more than a commodity. For that to happen, however, developers must find a way to harness its underlying technology to enable tasks that were previously difficult, expensive or impossible. These include cross-border transfers like remittances, which under the current financial system can be subject to high fees and long delays. Once Bitcoin finds a general use, the price is likely to stabilize, they say.

“Right now, Bitcoin is in this transition stage where it’s a commodity trying to become a currency,” said Rafael Corrales, a partner at the venture capital firm Charles River Ventures who has followed Bitcoin. “When Bitcoin becomes a currency, it realizes its potential.”

source :http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/price-of-bitcoin-tumbles/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

[Sindelar1938]

Now that the NYT has jumped on the bandwagon and covered the price fall, I am even more convinced that the px is going to increase again shortly
Seriously though, why has there been so little gleeful mainstream media coverage in the last few days?

[Coinbuddy]

Now that the NYT has jumped on the bandwagon and covered the price fall, I am even more convinced that the px is going to increase again shortly
Seriously though, why has there been so little gleeful mainstream media coverage in the last few days?

I think now price will go up to 600$

[mmsen]

The Guardian has been reporting on bitcoin for years.

You should expect it, these papers have huge budgets with dedicated technology and finance reporters.

[Oscilson]

At present, the main uncertainty is the New York Bit licence regulation. The comment period will finish on 21 October.

[blatchcorn]

BUY BUY BUY.  If the slow mainstream media have picked up it, then we are at the bottom

[Elwar]

One reason for the drop could be uncertainty over potential regulations. In July, New York became the first state to propose regulations for Bitcoin companies. The comment period for the regulations, which were introduced by the Department of Financial Services, is set to end on Oct. 21.

Quite arrogant of them to believe that some New York regulation is the reason for the drop. A 30k bitcoin wall would say differently.

[jaitor]

This should be the bottom, time to buy.
If bitcoin wasn't so volatile it wouldn't be bitcoin.

[RustyNomad]

First there are rumors and after that comes the main stream media.

Once it hits the media its time to start going in the opposite direction.

[ebliever]

Looks like it has bottomed out and already has rebounded a bit. Anyone see the news of that $300, 31,000 BTC sell wall on Bitstamp? Looks like the plankton ate the whale...

[FUR11]

Doesn't matter. As soon as the price goes up again, the news will be full of positive coverage and hype again. Greed is what's going to fuel the next bubble, again, and potentially every other bubble that may occur afterwards!

[LFC_Bitcoin]

Who the hell has 31,000 BTC?

I feel like a pauper with my 11 BTC.

[spazzdla]

Who the hell has 31,000 BTC?

I feel like a pauper with my 11 BTC.

Someone with A LOT more attempting to  pump the price up to sell off more (doubtful)

Someone that had A lot that was attemtping to drive the price down and just got SSSSSSSSSHIT ON. (not soo doubtful)

Not sure (most probable)

[Elwar]

Doesn't matter. As soon as the price goes up again, the news will be full of positive coverage and hype again. Greed is what's going to fuel the next bubble, again, and potentially every other bubble that may occur afterwards!

[ab8989]

Now that the NYT has jumped on the bandwagon and covered the price fall, I am even more convinced that the px is going to increase again shortly
Seriously though, why has there been so little gleeful mainstream media coverage in the last few days?

You have to remember that most mainstream media readers have still not heard about bitcoin at all and that media wants to write stories that have a lot of interested readers.

If there is something that the readers have not already heard about but media can write a story that this new mysterious thing is taking the world by storm, that is a story that is interesting and a lot of people will read it.

If on the other hand there is something the readers have not heard about and the story is about how that new thing has gotten less important that is just a big fat yawn to the readers and because of that that kind of story is not going to get written.

The only media that writes about bitcoin going down is one that imagines that most of its readers are already very familiar with bitcoin and there are not so many of those media yet.

[51percemt]

Now that the NYT has jumped on the bandwagon and covered the price fall, I am even more convinced that the px is going to increase again shortly
Seriously though, why has there been so little gleeful mainstream media coverage in the last few days?

You have to remember that most mainstream media readers have still not heard about bitcoin at all and that media wants to write stories that have a lot of interested readers.

If there is something that the readers have not already heard about but media can write a story that this new mysterious thing is taking the world by storm, that is a story that is interesting and a lot of people will read it.

If on the other hand there is something the readers have not heard about and the story is about how that new thing has gotten less important that is just a big fat yawn to the readers and because of that that kind of story is not going to get written.

The only media that writes about bitcoin going down is one that imagines that most of its readers are already very familiar with bitcoin and there are not so many of those media yet.

I think a lot of the general public (people who read the MSM) have heard about bitcoin, but do not fully understand as to how it works (nor it's potential for value). I would say that a good portion of the public is somewhat interested in bitcoin and this is why the MSM gives it the attention that it gets