Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by igorgue 3116 days ago
Hope you know Coinbase is only 8% of the total Bitcoin volume each day.

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/#markets
2 comments
ceejayoz 3116 days ago
A run on one bank frequently has knock-on effects on other banks.
link
Beejeepa 3116 days ago
Bank runs are bad when there isn't a full reserve. Coinbase says it has 100% reserves.

Bank runs are how fraudulent exchanges are caught: Bitcoin is self-auditing, and either you have it or you don't, there aren't IOUs or paper receipts.

Fractional reserve banking is a prisoner's dilemma, we all marginally benefit from the status quo of credit/debit/interest, but in a crisis, the first people to pull out win, and everyone else loses.

link
thedragonslayer 3116 days ago
What if Coinbase is the one buying large amounts of bitcoin? Then using reserves so they can buy/sell on both sides. See where it gets risky?
link
rbobby 3116 days ago
I wonder how quickly CoinBase could release funds from cold wallet(s)? Could be hours... which could pretty bad.
link
tome 3116 days ago
Right, "only 8%" is rather a lot.
link
thedragonslayer 3116 days ago
Yes but what is the % of withdrawls? I know most U.S. members transfer from the exchanges over to Coinbase to withdrawl so they need them eventually
link