Russians move into bitcoin as ruble tanks

[NACBA]

"The high trading volumes with the ruble is to be expected, given the flight away from this struggling currency. Bitcoin is therefore a natural destination, as well as other strong central bank currencies."

Start of a Russian shift to cryptocurrency?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102275772

 

[fatjohn]

Well...

yes its true but they missed the volume of trades with the volume of bitcoins traded.
So 819 bitcoins traded instead of 819 number of transactions in the RUR/BTC market on BTC-e.

Thats about $250,000 in trading volume.
Hardly worth an article if you ask me.

Wake me up when its 81,900 bitcoin.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Both made the list of "worst investments for 2014" list.

http://www.newsweek.com/bitcoin-worse-investment-rouble-2014-292851

The Currency That's Dropped Further Than the Rouble This Year: Bitcoin

Bitcoin, the online cryptocurrency recently hailed as the most successful of its kind, has been valued as potentially the worst investment in 2014 by business site Quartz.

Bitcoin’s value has plummeted massively in the last 12 months, currently showing a bigger drop than the Greek stock exchange or the Argentine peso. According to the Guardian, one bitcoin is now worth less than half of what it was this time last year, having devalued by 52% since the start of 2014.

Even the Russian rouble which was declared the worst performing currency of 2014 and which has registered single day falls worse than those seen in Russia’s 1998 economic crisis, had outperformed Bitcoin as of Wednesday morning GMT.

Currently the rouble’s rate of devaluation in 2014 is 51%.

According to Andrew Davies, a Newsweek business writer, it isn’t highly surprising the cryptocurrency has hit a rough patch as the novelty of bitcoin makes it highly sensitive to changes in the trading climate.

“Right now people are feeling very worried and so are dumping holdings that they fear might fall sharply in value,” Davies says.

“Bitcoin is a prime candidate for this treatment because its value depends always on what I call ‘the greater fool’ - i.e. someone who is willing to pay even more for it than you did in order to take it off your hands and give you a profit.” Davies adds.

A surge in popularity of bitcoin trading over the first half of 2014 caused the value of the currency to skyrocket, hitting the highest ever rate of $900 per single coin and prompting the number of merchants trading in the currency who have made a billion dollars in revenue to increase from zero to 10 by the end of the year.

In the second half of 2014 however, the excitement surrounding bitcoin decreased and volatility in oil, equities, bonds, currencies and commodities has scared traders away from experimental currency such as bitcoin causing the value to drop to $334 per coin on Wednesday.

More at link.

 

[Zippyjuan]

In Russia you can be fined for even distributing or mining bit coins.

http://www.coindesk.com/russia-lowers-proposed-penalties-bitcoin-activities/

Russia’s Ministry of Finance has reduced the proposed fines both individual and institutional bitcoin users would potentially face for creating, issuing or promoting digital currencies under a draft bill that seeks to outlaw the use of so-called "money surrogates" like bitcoin.

The updated bill decreases penalties for individuals, who under the latest version would only incur a maximum 50,000 ruble fine (roughly $1,050), down from 60,000 rubles ($1,314) in the previous iteration.

Under the new terms, individuals who disseminate money substitutes directly could be fined 20,000–40,000 rubles (about $431–$862), down from 30,000–50,000 rubles ($646–$1,078) in the original proposal. Further, those who disseminate information about money substitutes face fines of 5,000–30,000 rubles ($107–$646), reduced from 5,000–50,000 rubles ($$107–$1,078)).

 

[muh_roads]

Both made the list of "worst investments for 2014" list.

http://www.newsweek.com/bitcoin-worse-investment-rouble-2014-292851



More at link.

Of course a media in bed with the banking system couldn't wait to publish these FUD articles exactly 1 year from the ATH of Dec 16th 2013. Lets forget the fact that Bitcoin rose 6,125% in 2013.

It's also funny how libertarians who want to see legal tender laws abolished loved the bad Bitcoin press.

 

[kpitcher]

I'd be happy with a doubling or tripling of BTC like the cyprus problem, the US government shutdown, or the Chinese really jumping in like last year.