Is MtGOX manipulating the Bitcoin market?
For those not in the know, the Magic: the Gathering Online eXchange (MtGOX for short, emptygox to some) is the largest and most popular bitcoin “exchange,” a service that matches fools wishing to buy bitcoins with those who are just a bit wiser and are trying to get out. It’s somewhat similar to real stock exchanges, except it focuses on only one thing, does a terrible job trading, and was originally intended to exchange virtual Magic: the Gathering cards. MtGOX theoretically matches buyers and sellers, then takes a fee for each transaction, then apparently throws that away instead of spending it on maintenance, infrastructure, or administration. The site is notoriously laggy, has been
Seagull
April 8, 2013 @ 4:51 pm
Indeed, I was watching the order book earlier. It was suspicious as hell.
If the Financial Services Authority looked at it they would shut it down within the hour.
I first took a good look at bitcoin last week. It seemed quite an innovative idea at first glance, especially as some parts of the media were bigging it up. It does not require much investigation to unearth it
romad20000
April 9, 2013 @ 3:51 pm
Heres my beef with this libertarian wet dream. If the currency is constantly deflating it makes sense to buy, drive the price higher , dump. It will only be a matter of time befoee some smart ass wall street firm invents an algorithm to HFT bitcoins then look out..
C W
April 22, 2013 @ 7:04 pm
Buttcoin enthusiasts state that “wild speculation” will be good for BTC because it will “stabilize” the market.
Rassah
April 10, 2013 @ 7:25 am
TL;DR – A small business that is unprepared for a huge boom in growth will have infrastructure problems.
Do yourself a favor and learn about how exchanges work before letting everyone know that you don’t know what the hell you are talking about. An exchange isn’t just some random nerds sitting around, tossing money at prices like dice on the table, hoping they get a good roll. Prices and order queues are watched very carefully. If someone has a sell at $200, and the price is manipulated so that a sell happens at $201 while their old $200 sell is still open, that someone will realize that someone else jumped their queue in line, and it will be complained about rather loudly. Ditto for walls: When someone sees 10BTC buy wall at $200, and they put in an instant sale of 10 BTC, they damn well expect to get $2,000 right away. Sure, there could be issues where someone put in a sale before them, but thanks to high frequency trade bots that do exactly this (monitor books, buy/sell at specific price), any such shenanigans will be discovered quickly when a bunch of bots go nuts from not being able to match orders and losing a ton of money.
LJ superstar 2004
April 10, 2013 @ 9:40 am
Dog dick coffee table.
Rassah
April 10, 2013 @ 9:59 am
That was mean :`(
http://replygif.net/i/718
Guest
April 13, 2013 @ 12:16 am
Haha, infrastructure problems, not some random nerd… That is exactly how it went down with probably unemployable devs
Rassah
April 13, 2013 @ 7:32 am
What the f? What are you talking about?
Kurt Krumm
April 10, 2013 @ 9:11 am
Oh man, just found this site, thanks for the laughs! It should be called butthurtoverbitcoins.org. Could the whole thing fall flat on its face? Sure and if you put your life savings into it you’re a moron. Butt (pun intended), fortune favors the bold and smart investors/miners are well protected There was this kind of FUD about linux, the internet, the PC, microwave ovens, the internal combustion engine, etc, etc. I bet the caveman that conquered the fear of fire was laughed at by a small group of stubborn old neanderthals shivering in a dark corner. Thanks again for the laughs 🙂 And sorry for what ever event made you so bitter. I’ll be back in a few years to be equally entertained by either childish gloating or a “your page can not be found” error.
LJ superstar 2004
April 10, 2013 @ 9:43 am
I see you’re chanting “FUD.” Would you like to build a wooden airplane and wait for John Frum?
JimboToronto
April 12, 2013 @ 4:29 pm
It’s always fun to watch dinosaurs struggle as they sink deeper and deeper into the tarpits.
Bitcoin deniers are like flat-earthers.
anon
April 15, 2013 @ 9:07 am
> I’ll be back in a few years to be equally entertained by either childish gloating or a “your page can not be found” error.
i’m just going to add “127.0.0.1 buttcoin.org” to my ‘hosts’ file. this site isn’t even worth wasting DNS lookups on. =D
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Nigel Pope
May 1, 2013 @ 5:48 am
Now that the world is more aware of bitcoins, Mt gox, like many other so called “exchanges” has a fundamental flaw for trading in that it was not designed to cope with large volumes. The bitcoin “order book” is minuscule and large moves are typically common when volumes on any one side exceed volumes opposing causing the price volatility. As is the case for many similar commodities or financial instruments with light volumes on the bid/offer sides volatility is common and orders often unfilled as price “gaps” occur. This is not to say a bitcoin exchange cannot act in a proper market like manner but it will take a more specialised approach to fulfil the buying/selling needs as the bitcoin market develops – be it open outcry or a more advanced computerised system as the traditional exchanges have to offer. The current exchange offerings were only designed for “bit-players” and hobbyists. Adapting to the real world of trading is inevitable but it will take a more formalised approach to effect this change. In the meantime, expect large price volatility, poor trade fills and poor management of “outages” and an “exchange” that by design can only work in its own best interest. After all, who wants to be caught the other side of a speeding train or a falling knife ?
Waxil Davidson
May 9, 2013 @ 1:26 am
What will you rip on next, 3d printing? Stay poor, keep it greasy.
Philippe
June 24, 2013 @ 9:06 am
wow ! looks like someone must have lost quite some money on mtgox to waste time writing such a long article with picture and all…Yeahh you’re right it’s all a big conspiracy, they control the price, your brain and everything..(but as long as they allow me to buy / sell btc and make some money , they can do whatever they want^^)
me
December 29, 2013 @ 9:24 am
Well since MtGox is not under investigation for fraud by Japanese authorities i took my money out before they “get hacked” and lose it all like the others do.