The Bitcoin Thread

[Dolby]

I unloaded at 7820 - but I didn't make much because I bought quite high.

Anyway, I trade more than buy ... so constant buy/sell and although I've made some dumb choices, I think I'm up since I started (2 months) by R1,800.00 net

 

[Ianvn]

I unloaded at 7820 - but I didn't make much because I bought quite high.

Anyway, I trade more than buy ... so constant buy/sell and although I've made some dumb choices, I think I'm up since I started (2 months) by R1,800.00 net

What I find difficult to understand is how you can make money by trading bitcoins. Unless there is a big jump in the price like the last 2 months.

I have done some calculations using the BitX exchange.

If you take into account the 1% fee they charge you need to sell your bitcoin (or fraction of it) for at least R150 more than you bought it for just so that you don't loose money. Taking the last 24 hours as an example the different between the lowest and highest price was only R130 which mean today you would not make any money if you were trading?

Is there maybe something I am not understanding?

 

[Dolby]

I'm no expert as I started in the last 2 months too - but I think if you place orders there are no fees.

I do all my trades via orders

 

[Dolby]

Oh - sell now ...

US$ price took a dive and I'm sure you'll see BitX drop R150ish shortly (sitting at R7.650.00 now)

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Sold mine a while back,

Didn't do to badly, but now want it to fall so I can buy a lot when its close to nothing......

 

[Dolby]

Yea think it'll go under R7,400 today (15 Jan). But want it to go drop to low R6,000s myself

 

[Dolby]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the crash today

http://fusion.net/story/255949/bitcoin-failed-says-mike-hearn/

“The fundamentals are broken and whatever happens to the price in the short term, the long term trend should probably be downwards,”

 

[saor]

Yea think it'll go under R7,400 today (15 Jan). But want it to go drop to low R6,000s myself

If it hit 6000 I'd be tempted to try a much larger sum... just not sure how long this fluctuation will go on for. Even if we just get one more cycle of 6000 >7800 it'll be a nice chance to make some holiday money.

 

[saor]

Dropped down to 6300 yesterday afternoon.
Did anyone buy?

 

[Viva]

I just read the last couple of pages. One of the questions was how one can leverage the weak Rand using Bitcoins to convert to USD, and then convert back to ZAR (through BTC) when the Rand is weaker.

I've looked for a way to do this. The only option I've found is using BitX (ZAR to BTC), then Bitfinex (BTC to USD). Then you wait for 12 months or how long you want to, and do the reverse to leverage the weak Rand.

Bitfinex looks like a good option as they allow one to trade on their exchange without confirmation of ID, proof of address, or a US bank account. The only catch is that USD can't be withdrawn from "unverified" accounts. But this is not a problem, as we only want to store the money in USD for a couple of months/years.

I've played with this idea for about a month. I've not done much to do this myself, but it seems like a good option. There are only two variables/risk factors:

- If BTC goes belly up during this time, you won't have a way to bring back your money.
- If either Bitfinex or BitX goes under, again, we would be in trouble.

What do you guys think?

 

[Viva]

I've only started trading BTC about a month ago. Only short term trades (literally hours or maybe a day at a time). I've been able to grow my capital by 13.3% (couple thousand Rand), which is great for such a short period.

Most of the time, I just sit around and wait for an obvious buying opportunity to present itself. I don't wait very long before selling. So far, so good.

 

[saor]

I've only started trading BTC about a month ago. Only short term trades (literally hours or maybe a day at a time). I've been able to grow my capital by 13.3% (couple thousand Rand), which is great for such a short period.

Most of the time, I just sit around and wait for an obvious buying opportunity to present itself. I don't wait very long before selling. So far, so good.

Using BitX?

 

[Viva]

Using BitX?

Yes.

 

[saor]

Yes.

Cool.
Yeah there's been some nice fluctuations lately. Seems to be quite steady at around R7000 now tho.

 

[Sysem]

I've only started trading BTC about a month ago. Only short term trades (literally hours or maybe a day at a time). I've been able to grow my capital by 13.3% (couple thousand Rand), which is great for such a short period.

Most of the time, I just sit around and wait for an obvious buying opportunity to present itself. I don't wait very long before selling. So far, so good.

I've been interested in trying some Bitcoin trading, but being new to the whole thing, I'm not sure where to start. I've got a BitX account, and a measly R200 in it. Any pointers on when to buy/sell? When it hits figures that you want (say, drops below R7k or breaks R8k etc), and then hope for the best, or do you follow some patterns?

 

[saor]

I've been interested in trying some Bitcoin trading, but being new to the whole thing, I'm not sure where to start. I've got a BitX account, and a measly R200 in it. Any pointers on when to buy/sell? When it hits figures that you want (say, drops below R7k or breaks R8k etc), and then hope for the best, or do you follow some patterns?

I'd suggest getting the BTC tracker widget and keeping an eye on the trends, see what the average is etc. If the price hits <R6300 tonight I'd buy as it's likely to settle again at R7000 or even rocket up to R7500-R7800 if these shenanigans continue.

 

[Viva]

Cool.
Yeah there's been some nice fluctuations lately. Seems to be quite steady at around R7000 now tho.

Trading sideways for a few days now, which has been frustrating. Looking at the USD price, the BitX price is simply too high. Looking at the depth chart confirms this, buyers are willing to pay around R6500. But still, trading continues at the current level, but I don't believe it is sustainable.

The price dropped to R6527 yesterday, at which point I was able to buy 2.6BTC. The rest of my order didn't trade, unfortunately. But it then shot up back to over R7000, and I sold that same BTC at around R7075. So that's a profit of about R1400. Got lucky.

 

[MrGray]

Well the recent pattern seems to be that it climbs slowly for a couple of weeks, drops rapidly in a day, trades sideways for a week or so, climbs slowly... rinse repeat. Of course, this is no indication that it will repeat this pattern. So if you have money that you don't care about losing, watch for a price collapse, wait for it to trade sideways for a while, buy when it looks like it is climbing again and try to dump it if it looks like it is starting to wobble again. Just my 2c and not advice - if you lose your shirt it's on you. It looks like it's *possibly* in a climbing phase at the moment.

 

[MrGray]

I just read the last couple of pages. One of the questions was how one can leverage the weak Rand using Bitcoins to convert to USD, and then convert back to ZAR (through BTC) when the Rand is weaker.

I've looked for a way to do this. The only option I've found is using BitX (ZAR to BTC), then Bitfinex (BTC to USD). Then you wait for 12 months or how long you want to, and do the reverse to leverage the weak Rand.

Bitfinex looks like a good option as they allow one to trade on their exchange without confirmation of ID, proof of address, or a US bank account. The only catch is that USD can't be withdrawn from "unverified" accounts. But this is not a problem, as we only want to store the money in USD for a couple of months/years.

I've played with this idea for about a month. I've not done much to do this myself, but it seems like a good option. There are only two variables/risk factors:

- If BTC goes belly up during this time, you won't have a way to bring back your money.
- If either Bitfinex or BitX goes under, again, we would be in trouble.

What do you guys think?

Much simpler just to open a dollar denominated account with your bank if all you're looking for is a Rand/$ hedge. Unless you're talking millions in which case I wouldn't risk BTC anyway. Otherwise if you're prepared to risk holding/speculating in BTC why not just buy BTC and hold it in BTC on BitX without the Bitfinex conversion?

 

[Viva]

Well the recent pattern seems to be that it climbs slowly for a couple of weeks, drops rapidly in a day, trades sideways for a week or so, climbs slowly... rinse repeat. Of course, this is no indication that it will repeat this pattern. So if you have money that you don't care about losing, watch for a price collapse, wait for it to trade sideways for a while, buy when it looks like it is climbing again and try to dump it if it looks like it is starting to wobble again. Just my 2c and not advice - if you lose your shirt it's on you. It looks like it's *possibly* in a climbing phase at the moment.

You might be right. The USD price has been climbing today. But the big gap between the BitX price and the USD price bothers me. I'm going to wait some more.