Slashdot Mirror
Bitfloor Indefinitely Suspends Bitcoin Trading
PerformanceDude writes "Bitfloor (a New York-based online exchange for Bitcoin) yesterday made the following announcement on their website: I am sorry to announce that due to circumstances outside of our control BitFloor must cease all trading operations indefinitely. Unfortunately, our US bank account is scheduled to be closed and we can no longer provide the same level of USD deposits and withdrawals as we have in the past. As such, I have made the decision to halt operations and return all funds. Over the next days we will be working with all clients to ensure that everyone receives their funds. Please be patient as we process your request. Roman — bitfloor.com" According to the company's Twitter account, money should be returned to users' bank accounts shortly.
Sounds like the govenrment finally decided they didn't like money outside their control.
>> US bank account is scheduled to be closed
Clearly this is the work of the Illuminati Lizard People.
Bitcoin is already down to $90, where is that $1000 bitcoin troll at now?
Money has to at least be a short term store of value. If bread costs twice as much in the evening as it does in the morning no one will want your currency. Bitcoin is not doing well on that front. I am sure all the early folks are cashing out now and laughing all the way to the bank though.
> Unfortunately, our US bank account is scheduled to be closed and we can no longer provide the same level of USD deposits and withdrawals as we have in the past.
Is it me or is that the most understated sentence ever written?
Bitcoin is already down to $90, where is that $1000 bitcoin troll at now? ... [all the early folks are] cashing out now and laughing all the way to the bank though.
Sounds like you just answered your own question.
My work here is dung.
There is no conspiracy here. No one cares about this toy money. They broke already existing federal anti-laundering laws so this happened. They could have followed the law and been able to stay open.
What's is the story here?
This is Slashdot: The story is "bitcoin something something".
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Never. Why on earth would it? Crypto-currencies are a fascinating concept and Bitcoin is one of the greatest experiments ever. Whether it ultimately succeeds or fails is irrelevant, it will be written into the history books forever.
You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
I'm not in a position to judge. So let me speculate based upon my own prejudices and stupidity.
What this obviously proves is that THE MAN hates freedom and is hating Bitcoins so has leaned on the bank (though didn't need to be because the bank IS THE MAN too) to close down Bitcoins which are totally a legitimate currency because you can exchange CPU cycles for Bitcoins which is much better than the dollar because the dollar can be made to hyperinflate by printing more although it doesn't whereas Bitcoins never have inflation because they're based on CPU cycles and its just its success that means it keeps oscillating between $50 and $200 every few months. This is simply another case where the MAFIAA are trying to shut us down because we threaten their business model by selling things that have value because they're products of really big prime numbers which everyone knows are totally worth thousands of dollars.
(c) 50% of Slashdot posters.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Surprisingly, no. It can be a great way to make a lot of money.
Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_cost_averaging, and then do some basic scenarios. The key thing is that if there's a lot of oscillating between two extremes, then putting the same amount of money into an investment vehicle over a period of time will result in fairly substantial growth of your account - even if, on average, the vehicle itself never gains value.
The system works because when you put in the same amount of cash (rather than buy the same number of securities) basic math is working in your favor. Put $1000 when Bitcoins are worth $200, and when the price collapses to $50, that part of your investment is worth $250 - a $750 loss.
However, put $1000 in when they're $50, and when the price rises to $200, that part of your investment is worth $4000, a $3000 gain. If you're putting the same amount of money in at intervals unrelated to the rise and fall of the currency, then on average, you should have as many "$1000 at $200s" as you have "$1000 at $50s".
Of course, the algorithm wouldn't be useful unless you're in the black most of the time even when the currency isn't at its extremes. If you assume that usually it'll float around the $125 range (half way between $50 and $200), then the loss on the $1000@$200 investments will be $375, and the gains on the $1000@$50 "only" look like $1500. You're still making more than 100% return at that rate.
This is a fairly normal investment scheme FWIW and is part of the logic behind most pension systems. Of course, the stock market doesn't fluctuate anything like as much as Bitcoins do. On the other hand, very few people believe that the stock market will ever collapse entirely.
The danger with this scheme is that there's no guarantee Bitcoins aren't going to permanently collapse, and that would cause your investment to be wiped out. I'm not going to do it in large part for that reason. The amounts involved to make this useful are much higher than I'm willing to bet at the moment.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Bitcoins are backed by the utility of being able to send them between people without having to deal with any third parties. They present the value of everything that can be bought with Bitcoins; as that set is slowly growing, so is the value of Bitcoin. It's a classic network effect.
To bet on Bitcoin is to bet that PayPal, Visa, and banks will continue screwing their customers, which seems like a pretty safe bet.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.