Is bitcoin too volatile?

[gdog]

I am wondering...

One can trust the dollar, euro, pound, yen or whatever because they are stable.
Meaning that if I can buy a popsicle at a nearby convenience store for 1$ I will probably be able to do so tommorow or next week.

Bitcoin, however, can easily gain or lose 100$ of its value within a single day...

Assuming that we want bitcoin to replace the current paper currency, why should any consumer trust bitcoin?
If no one is regulating it, it can suffer from huge inflation/deflation problems.

The people I know buy bitcoins because they are hoping to make money off of it. I don't personally know of anyone who holds bitcoins for the sole purpose of buying online goods.

So, does anyone here believe that bitcoin can replace the $? If so I would like to hear an explanation to why people will use such a volatile coin.

Thanks!!

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[247casino]

it's for VICE buys

drugs
casinos
porn
sex
etc

btc needs a nice cheap download site for music, 10 cent downloads

that will get 100 million users worldwide FAST

then btc will be 50K a coin

cha ching

[Odien]

bitcoin is now getting stable
less volatility

[ShetKid]

People prefer bitcoins because its easy to get, and its faster and just better.

[yvv]

Assuming that we want bitcoin to replace the current paper currency

Only 3% of money in the world is printed in paper. Almost all of it exist in electronic accounts only.

So, does anyone here believe that bitcoin can replace the $?

In gambling, smuggling and money laundering very likely.

[orsotheysaid]

bitcoin is now getting stable
less volatility

Nah it's far from stable. It will get more stable tho, but I dont hope for fiat tier stable, but gold tier.

[dinofelis]

It is a bit a catch-22.

In order for bitcoin to gain stability, it should have strong fundamentals which determine the price, and not much speculation.  This can come with very large merchant adoption.  If you can buy a lot of stuff with bitcoin, then what you can buy with it will essentially determine its value: that's a monetary fundamental.  It is also the reason why fiat is stable in the short term: there is a huge market of things you can buy with it.  The "price" of $ and Euro is determined as a function of the stuff you can buy with it, and not as an exchange rate with respect to another currency.  If prices would suddenly rise, people would buy less stuff, which would leave merchants with surplusses, and prices would lower again, until they are in agreement with offer and demand. 

The problem for the moment with bitcoin is that you can't actually buy a lot of stuff with it, and moreover, that in those cases you can, you are *actually* buying in $ or Euro or whatever, converted to bitcoin.  The price is set in fiat, and the bitcoin price is derived from it via an exchange rate.  That means that you are actually not buying with a bitcoin price, but a fiat price, and that you are depending on the bitcoin-fiat exchange rate.

As such, the monetary fundamental of bitcoin at this moment is very, very narrow, and cannot support even the current price.
The current price is mainly determined by pure speculation, which is always volatile.

And unfortunately, as long as it is volatile, no merchant is going to price his goods directly in bitcoin.

I think the first stage is to acquire a large, large merchant adoption (even with actual price setting in fiat).  From there on, we may hope on a direct price setting in bitcoin.  That will give a monetary basis of a price of a bitcoin, and is a real fundamental.  But we are a far cry yet from that point.

[1Referee]

bitcoin is now getting stable

I think you might need to refresh your browser, your charts are not updating  

We will keep the volatility for atleast a few more years, just use it in your advantage to make profit.

[Erdogan]

The fiat money you list, are not stable. Yen lost 30 per cent this year only, relative to dollar. The strong bolivar of Venezula lost even more. Measured in a capital good like iron ore, the dollar gained 100 per cent this year. Measured in a consumption good like a flat, the dollar lost - how much - 10 percent year on year.

Money can not have a stable value. It is market based like all goods. But, unlike some good like an ice cream, where you might consume more when they are cheap, not so with money, it makes no difference if they are cheap or expensive at the moment. They are only for speculation. On the other hand, when you expect them to be cheaper or more expensive in the future, you might seek to acquire either more or less. Anyway, you would like to have a cash balance, just to have freedom to decide later.

When you sell something, including your time, for money, there is no guarantee how much you get back, measured in goods, for that trade. It depends on the value of the goods you seek, and the value of the money. When you buy, you know, not earlier.

[yvv]

Things like bitcoin can not be stable due to pre-scheduled supply rate. Market demand always varies, and since supply can not be adjusted to demand, bitcoin price will always be volatile.

[Ron~Popeil]

Things like bitcoin can not be stable due to pre-scheduled supply rate. Market demand always varies, and since supply can not be adjusted to demand, bitcoin price will always be volatile.

I would actually suggest that the inalterable rate of creation lends some stability to the market. Volatility has and will continue to calm down as it becomes more widespread as a currency instead of an investment tool.

[GigaByte]

I think that by the end of next year btc will be at a very stable and solid price. Im not expecting it too go up too much and I dont recommend that anyone else does either.

[Bejkn]

you say that is the biggest problem with Bitcoin currently, I have no good udea to answer you, but we can wait and see.

[oblixster]

The more I read and learn about Bitcoin, the more I think it will stay volatile for a long period of time for a great number of reasons

[yayayo]

I am wondering...

One can trust the dollar, euro, pound, yen or whatever because they are stable.
Meaning that if I can buy a popsicle at a nearby convenience store for 1$ I will probably be able to do so tommorow or next week.

No, you can't. You will definitely loose purchasing power through inflation.

You're taking the wrong perspective, because you use these fiat currencies as valuation references for Bitcoin. If you take Bitcoin as valuation reference you'll see that fiat currencies are fluctuating wildly... If every product would be priced primarily in BTC, price changes would be much lower.

Even if we take the Bitcoin volatility hypothesis for granted, it's not a real problem. People have been able to cope with wild price fluctiations even before the information age easily. With information technology, volatility is even less a problem, because all price conversions can be done automatically.
Also, Bitcoin's volatility will decrease with growing market capitalization.

I think the Bitcoin volatility hypothesis was first propagated by actors associated with central banks who want to scare people away from a better alternative to their inflationary fiat scam.

ya.ya.yo!

[cutepuppy]

volatility is great that's why wall street is going crazy for bitcoin. 2015 is going to be a special year

[bigadam0101]

volatility is great that's why wall street is going crazy for bitcoin. 2015 is going to be a special year

First step can happen in January - if PayPal gonna accept Bitcoin.. 

[rfcdejong]

Google for Paybase and Paycoin, it's new and i believe in it already

Paycoin -> BTC -> Fiat and visa versa

Lets hope that will bring more stability in cryptoland, including bitcoin

[bornil267645]

well the recent price says that it can be steady if no one disturbs or try to manipulate it.

[Febo]

Yes it is, and only wider adoption will help here.

@bornil267645

Is still not enough. If you get pay in Bitcoins on Monday and you could buy 10l of Milk with it, but on  Friday only 8 then it is to volatile.