[gibybo]

>Exchanges are the same as auctions in the sense that the person that is buying the item is the one who bid the highest price. There is a reason why the buying prices is called a bid.

No, because then I could say "exchanges are the same as auctions in the sense that the person that is selling the item is the one who is willing to offer the cheapest price". This would imply exchanges tend to produce a price lower than the actual value of the item. Of course that isn't the case because unlike auctions, exchanges are balanced.

It's not just that it is only one item, it's that in your examples there is only one seller. In exchanges, there are many sellers selling identical items.

Do you really think Bitcoins are sold more like radio frequencies and bus routes than oil/gold/corn/stocks?