The Bitcoin Thread

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Bizkit87

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Lunomoney said:
Remember that there's no standard/ global Bitcoin price – Bitcoin isn't attached in any way to the USD or any other currency.
There are a number of factors that go into this which we'll touch on a bit below.

The rate quoted on Google and other Bitcoin price trackers will normally link to a much larger Bitcoin exchange, where the price will differ. Each Bitcoin exchange has a price that is solely determined by supply and demand on that particular exchange. So based off that fact, if an exchange sees more people selling the price will likely start to drop. The same goes for more people buying on that exchange, the price will go up. It's a very rudimentary example, but should paint a good picture on how the price is determined.

Another aspect here is arbitrage. This is determined by a few factors, but if arbitrage traders (you can read more about arbitrage here) are able to move money to a certain exchange without any limitations, prices between those two exchanges are most likely quite close. That isn't the case for a market like South Africa, for example, where capital controls are in place and make arbitrage trading difficult and most of the time, not worth while.

This is also a characteristic of a young exchange, as many of our users are new users purchasing bitcoin for the first time. Thus creating the demand on the exchange.

Other, more mature exchanges, do not share this characteristic. To add to this, inexperienced traders often emphasise market movements with herd irrationality due to their lack of knowledge surrounding bitcoin and crypto currency. If you look at our Malaysian exchange, with more experienced users, you will find that the price is more closely aligned with other global markets.

We can speculate about the causes for this premium but whatever the reason may be for this premium, it is important to note that you are not trading with Luno. We merely provide the platform upon which buyers and sellers interact. The forces of supply and demand determine the price.

We don't have any influence over the price.
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ok cool, just wanted some clarity. will wait it out again.
 
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balrog

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Knyro said:
Besides the drop bitcoin has been so volatile these past few hours it's not even funny.

Near-vertical red and green candles going off the top and bottom of my charts.
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I love the volatility - added some BTC profit to my current stash, shorting BTC during the dump :)
 
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balrog

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Thor

Thor

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balrog said:
Does anybody know if there are any of these for sale in the country. Even the "official" retailer for SA does not have any:

https://www.ledgerwallet.com/products/ledger-nano-s
http://nairadigit.com/2017/03/ledger-nano-s-review-is-this-bitcoin-wallet-better-than-trezor/

Thinking to get myself one of these - must start getting my BTC off exchanges - just leaving enough to trade with. these puppies are just becoming too valuable.
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Firstly very good overview of what wallets are out there and what they do https://platinumwealth.co.za/forum/Thread-The-Bitcoin-thread?pid=2978#pid2978

And then that poster bitcoinzar sells the wallet he does have ledger wallets in stock since recently so you can pop him an email his site is bitcoinzar.co.za
 
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Kerrits

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Lunomoney said:
Remember that there's no standard/ global Bitcoin price – Bitcoin isn't attached in any way to the USD or any other currency.
There are a number of factors that go into this which we'll touch on a bit below.

The rate quoted on Google and other Bitcoin price trackers will normally link to a much larger Bitcoin exchange, where the price will differ. Each Bitcoin exchange has a price that is solely determined by supply and demand on that particular exchange. So based off that fact, if an exchange sees more people selling the price will likely start to drop. The same goes for more people buying on that exchange, the price will go up. It's a very rudimentary example, but should paint a good picture on how the price is determined.

Another aspect here is arbitrage. This is determined by a few factors, but if arbitrage traders (you can read more about arbitrage here) are able to move money to a certain exchange without any limitations, prices between those two exchanges are most likely quite close. That isn't the case for a market like South Africa, for example, where capital controls are in place and make arbitrage trading difficult and most of the time, not worth while.

This is also a characteristic of a young exchange, as many of our users are new users purchasing bitcoin for the first time. Thus creating the demand on the exchange.

Other, more mature exchanges, do not share this characteristic. To add to this, inexperienced traders often emphasise market movements with herd irrationality due to their lack of knowledge surrounding bitcoin and crypto currency. If you look at our Malaysian exchange, with more experienced users, you will find that the price is more closely aligned with other global markets.

We can speculate about the causes for this premium but whatever the reason may be for this premium, it is important to note that you are not trading with Luno. We merely provide the platform upon which buyers and sellers interact. The forces of supply and demand determine the price.

We don't have any influence over the price.
Click to expand...

I understand that exchange controls will make it difficult to do with large sums, but what's to stop someone with both foreign (US for example) and local bank accounts to buy on another exchange, transfer to lumo, cash out to local account, and transfer back to the foreign account?

Even simpler, do any of the other exchanges accept credit cards?
 
etienne_marais

etienne_marais

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Kerrits said:
I understand that exchange controls will make it difficult to do with large sums, but what's to stop someone with both foreign (US for example) and local bank accounts to buy on another exchange, transfer to lumo, cash out to local account, and transfer back to the foreign account?

Even simpler, do any of the other exchanges accept credit cards?
Click to expand...

In a perfect world that is how arbitrage works, until the market corrects itself. I think the Luno rep. mentioned something about South African regulations making it not worthwhile. I read about an Asian guy literally flying over to other countries to open bank accounts there when disparities in exchanges became high.
 
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Knyro

Knyro

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etienne_marais said:
In a perfect world that is how arbitrage works, until the market corrects itself. I think the Luno rep. mentioned something about South African regulations making it not worthwhile. I read about an Asian guy literally flying over to other countries to open bank accounts there when disparities in exchanges became high.
Click to expand...

Also remember the arbitrage cycle takes time. While you're waiting for international bank transfers to clear bitcoin is moving 10% a day, more than enough time for the market to move against you. Not worth the risk for some people even though they are in a position to do it.
 
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balrog

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Thor187 said:
Firstly very good overview of what wallets are out there and what they do https://platinumwealth.co.za/forum/Thread-The-Bitcoin-thread?pid=2978#pid2978

And then that poster bitcoinzar sells the wallet he does have ledger wallets in stock since recently so you can pop him an email his site is bitcoinzar.co.za
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Thanks. However, I am looking for the "S" version, which has a built-in screen, like a Trezor. The plain Ledger doesn't have a screen, meaning you need a PC that is not compromised. The version with the screen actually allows you to use any PC, even if it has malware/virusses on it. I also see the price is currently 0.11 BTC, which is more than R4000. It seems like the site is maybe not as current anymore.
 
Thor

Thor

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balrog said:
Thanks. However, I am looking for the "S" version, which has a built-in screen, like a Trezor. The plain Ledger doesn't have a screen, meaning you need a PC that is not compromised. The version with the screen actually allows you to use any PC, even if it has malware/virusses on it. I also see the price is currently 0.11 BTC, which is more than R4000. It seems like the site is maybe not as current anymore.
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Send him a pm or email, he had the one with the screen I know what you are talking about now. If not in stock he can probably order for you.
 
Azg

Azg

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Looks like there is some correction in the bitcoin price.
 
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dj2381

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Is anyone here using Gatehub? I can't seem to get my 2factor Authentication working, I'm trying to jump on the Ripple bandwagon, I am using google authenticator.
 
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dj2381

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Changelly is gonna ruin my morning, transactions aren't going through due to high volumes.
 
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