Consider this a reminder that while Bitcoin may be an interesting technological achievement, as a tradable asset it is still basically a toy. Crappy exchange technology combined with low liquidity is a perfect recipe for this kind of volatility.
I think all of us veteran Bitcoin users saw this coming for awhile now. It's all the new users (<1 year) that are affected. They tend to disregard our advice to steer clear of Mt. Gox (and holding their BTC in an exchange like a bank). They're probably the same people who keep supporting scammers like BFL.
> As to get a better look at the process the system needs to be in a static state.
The fact they can't spin up a new MtGox environment with cloned data stores is troubling.
I'm not bitter that when bitcoin was ~ $1/btc I almost bought 1,000 btc ... no not bitter at all
:|
Is this the technical way of shutting your doors to stop the run on the bank?
Buy when there's blood in the streets (assuming the fundamentals are still good, which it looks like they are...)
Oh no, my college fund investment!
But Dogecoin is doing well.
Is it just me, or does MTGox seem to be the BTC site that has the most problems? Maybe its just because of their size, but in comparison Coinbase and Blockchain have few problems.
MtGox badly needs a financial audit. It's easy to fund operations from deposits and, by having limited withdrawals, hide the fact that you are insolvent.
Oddly funny, that the physical gold and silver buyer's mantra of "if you don't hold it, you don't own it" would apply to BTC.
Ok, time to find another exchange. Considering http://www.coinnext.com and https://localbitcoins.com Other suggestions?
2 bad news day in a row, and BTC is sensibly at the same price level... This resilience is making me more skeptical of a upcoming crash event. Price stability is sinequanone for acceptance as a currency.
Why does anyone deal with MtGox? Nothing but drama.
So, is this really a technological issue or a liquidity crisis at Mt. Gox?
Why would the price drop when there are other exchanges open?
Interesting comment on Reddit:
"I had a job interview with MtGox a couple of weeks ago for a frontend developer position. After talking about their technical environment I declined the position. Contemplated publicizing my story, but I have zero proof that the interview took place. But fuck me is their environment fucked up. Either way, I have been recommending to my friends to move any BTC away from Gox as soon as possible, and regret not bringing this advice into the open. I'm a Tokyoite, so if you want to talk to me about the job Interview, or just drink a beer, send me a DM."
"I was told that up until a few weeks [at time of the interview] ago, there was hardly any development environment to test changes. Most changes were done straight on the production environment. Typing this made me throw up in my mouth. The guy who interviewed me was very friendly, but I felt like a psychiatrist more than a job candidate. The dude went on about how shitty the atmosphere is at the offices, and what he told me about Mark seems to be spot on from what OP has said. Interview guy, if you read this, sorry yo."