all 30 comments

[–]snowkeld 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Yes, there are concerns, like dumping and effecting price adversely. These are not major concerns in my opinion, for two reasons.

1) the only way to fix the problem is for them to dump the coins on the open market - which is the very thing that is the primary real concern.

2) there isn't (in most scenarios) an economic gain in dumping enough to effect price greatly, except to manipulate short term for trading purposes, but even this has very high risks. Slippage hurts.

It's their BTC, they can do what they want with it.

[–]coinsCA -1 points0 points  (1 child)

The thing is people have no consensus over the value of bitcoin. 1 btc used to worth a tank of gas, now maybe a car. No bottom line, this could be horrible, also meaning it can be easily manipulated. It is not the same case with gold or silver, even if someone dumb 10t silver it's not gonna hurt the price really.

[–]snowkeld 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You're realizing that all things have subjective value. The individual decides what something is worth to them, and the thing they might use as a store of value specifically (money) has a value of what others are willing to give up to obtain it. Bitcoin has less risk of fallout due to a lack of central and arbitrary issuance.

[–]mickmon 10 points11 points  (5 children)

It’s a decent question. Sure, maybe it’ll lead to a huge dump. But as you say it could be a dump from 1M down to 300K which wouldn’t be so bad!

Buying in the hopes of selling for more later is just part of the game.

[–]Berelus 6 points7 points  (4 children)

That's a 70 percent devaluation. How can you say it wouldn't be so bad?

Imagine anything you own suddenly worth a third of its original amount. Your savings in your bank, suddenly goes from having $10k down to $3k. It would be a disaster!

[–]letsgetbit 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Cryptos are highly volatile and you shouldn’t risk more than you can lose. If it crashes, it won’t die. The network and ecosystem will adjust or price will rebound like BTC has done every time before.

[–]Berelus 2 points3 points  (2 children)

You're not wrong, but what you're saying has nothing to do with my post.

I know Bitcoin is volatile.

The point I'm making is that a 70% devaluation in any asset (crypto or otherwise) reflects very badly on that asset. It's a sign of poor confidence if all the whales started selling suddenly, which as time goes on, the likelihood of it happening should decrease.

[–]Gmcgator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's when you buy. Raise dry powder when times are good for exactly that reason

[–]letsgetbit -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The 70% drawbacks need to be measured against BTC 20x gain before the fall. In a vacuum 70% is crazy, big picture it doesn’t matter. When you zoom out BTC makes more sense.

[–]Dizz14 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We get knocked down, but we get up again

[–]EverythingCurrency 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only if holding those coins gives u a greater say in consensus. If they dump that means someone is buying which means a healthy marketplace. Also dont overlook the international decentralized nature of bitcoin. You'd need countries and ppl who never agreed on anything to coordinate and plan a well executed attack that would kill bitcoin.

[–]Hodlon2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey! just watch the last part of this video from 21:45 https://youtu.be/dCi3X3AbgT4

[–]Nominer 1 point2 points  (1 child)

principal you are right. But is the situation now? In the old days Gold was the stantard. To carry for big transaction sufficient Gold was to cumpersome. Paperprints (money) was printed. Say with the number 1. You cold change this Dollar for the equvalent amount of Gold. On a given moment the most governments had not enough Gold anymore and desited to relate the say Dollar not to the amount of Gold anymore. Now the governments could print as much money as it suits them, what the do. Extreme inflation was partly and is still the result. Example in the early thirties a loaf of bread one day DM 5.000, the next day 10.000, see now Venecuela, the EU and so one. Bitcoins can be fluctuate, but not inflated by the governments. This is the biggest plus of the Bitcoin. Money and governments are interwoven and can be controlled by the government. Bitcoin is still free, and here is the positive aspect.

[–]marcustroit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Bitcoins can be fluctuate, but not inflated by the governments" - the governments are whales too. One of the biggest ones I guess.

[–]d3vrandom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't realize the whales controlled prices to this extent and they were madmen who wanted to crash the market.

[–]CatOfGrey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

View from my desk: today's Bitcoin value is determined by the amount of today's Bitcoin activity.

Right now, the large holders would drive down prices if they sold their stakes, but with a long-term gain because the market would be more open with more long-term users.

[–][deleted]  (2 children)


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      [–]AndrewJayThornton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      It's kind of scary that with a lot of wealth comes a lot of political power. I honestly have no idea how it will look in the future, but it can be kind of scary since I'm sure there are some whales with unethical behavior.

      There's a theory that as the BTC value increases, central banks take btc more seriously and want to increase their holdings. They'll buy from anyone, including whales who are willing to sell. I have no idea if this theory has some merit and what influence it has on the overall market, but it's interesting to observe whether central banks will make this move eventually (either publicly or privately).

      [–]letsgetbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Let them dump, pay fees and carry risk of BTC going up. Bitcoin funnels $ from the impatient to the patient.

      [–]bitusher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      It is very difficult for many early adopters to keep their BTC over many years as the temptation to invest it in other businesses or buy land, homes, and cars or give it away to charity is so high. This means with each passing bull market more and more large wales will decrease their amount of Bitcoin and those Bitcoin will get spread to newer investors.

      Those of us who have been around for many years have seen this occur many times over and over again.

      Your general concerns are somewhat valid though, and associated with the liquidity in a market. A large whale in Bitcoin can move or manipulate the market ~5% typically but with altcoins they could move it over 90%, thus as Bitcoins liquidity continues to grow this will mean that whales will have less and less of a influence.

      [–]cryptochill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Sure, it's is a thing to be concerned about. But a majority of all wealth is controlled by a minority of people. It's the same with fiat money, property, stocks, bonds, etc.

      [–]biznaaatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Something that I've learned during my time in crypto is that it is like a religion to many. Even if some whale chooses to dump, there are many, millions actually, people who will see it as a bargain and buy up the supply.

      Every year bitcoin sees a higher low and this is why. It is a network effect.

      [–]KulminaBitPt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      You're right, we should be worried as about 2% of Bitcoin Addresses Control 80% of Wealth. Whales and exchanges are accumulating as much as they can with all the possible dirty tricks to trick you into selling.

      It is, however, generally stated that with the increase in adoption and specifically the market cap, volatility will decrease because it'll be harder for whales to pump-and-dump without much higher risks.

      [–]EvanGRogers -1 points0 points  (0 children)

      No. It's their money.

      You worry about you.