Silk Road forums

Discussion => Off topic => Topic started by: TheGoodSon on December 03, 2012, 07:39 pm

Title: Bitcoin arbitrage anyone?
Post by: TheGoodSon on December 03, 2012, 07:39 pm
I was just wondering how many of you participate in bitcoin arbitrage? For those of you who don't know what arbitrage is, it's buying something somewhere and reselling it for profit..

Example:

You buy a pound of weed in Miami for $100 and resell it in New York for $200.. or with bitcoins...
You buy a btc from CampBX for $12.30 and resell it at MtGox for $12.50

You'd have to move a LOT of BTC to make it worth your while, but if you have time to burn when buying BTC, it might be worth your while.
Title: Re: Bitcoin arbitrage anyone?
Post by: Revolutionista on December 03, 2012, 09:38 pm
Im new to sr but I have a decent grasp on the whole btc thing. Trade at bitcoin-otc and you pay no fees. Its essentially an unmoderated chat room with a clever yet very complex ratings and trust system. You can trade with anyone in anyway you see fit for any rate. Its common wen someone wants to sell bitcoins theyl be in a rush so getting offered btc at cheaper than market rate isnt uncommon I know many services that charge a flat 6%+ fee and demands is so high they run dry of bitcoins regularly. If you want to make any money you have to trade otc (over the counter) but you need to grasp pgp and the use of irc chat else youl end up getting screwed. Hope I wasnt teaching you to suck eggs there but not a lot of ppl use that method to get their bitcoins and its without a doubt the cheapeat way itsjust complicated. Have a read up on it if youve not heard of it. Pretty interesting stuff
Title: Re: Bitcoin arbitrage anyone?
Post by: SelfSovereignty on December 03, 2012, 09:47 pm
It's a good idea, but if I may say so, you're thinking much too small.  What you need to be thinking about is learning how to write a program that will automate the entire process for you 24/7.  Or just how much a respectable coder who knows how not to get things like passwords intercepted would charge you for the one he wrote himself.

I'd be amazed if there aren't hundreds or even thousands of little personal ones processing away at this very second.  The problem, of course, is getting the money OUT of the exchange you sell at.  BitInstant is quick, but their cut is so large the difference in price at the exchanges has to be pretty big to make any profit at all.  I'm sure a lot of people made a killing doing it at first though.
Title: Re: Bitcoin arbitrage anyone?
Post by: lucidmatrix on December 04, 2012, 12:52 am
Someday after I hoard up enough coins I'll go into the buying and selling business.
Title: Re: Bitcoin arbitrage anyone?
Post by: Revolutionista on December 04, 2012, 02:37 pm
You have to be careful holding large amounts of bitcoin. Bitcoins a relelatively unstable currency and you could easily wipe out a years profits in a week if you were heavily exposed
Title: Re: Bitcoin arbitrage anyone?
Post by: lucidmatrix on December 04, 2012, 06:37 pm
I understand the risks. For me bitcoin is an investment. I believe the price will go up. The only way I could wipe out a years profit in a week is if the price of BTC goes to null which it won't.