XRP and ZB.com

[mistatee2000]

I have noticed for some weeks that there have been xrp volume spikes on this exchange which have very significant, either on pairings XRP/QC or BTC ( don't know what QC is either). Now it is mostly XRP/BTC and as of writing, their total share of XRP traded volume stands at 50%. 

It is assumed to be "wash trading", whatever that may be, but is this manipulation? 

Can anyone throw any light on this?

[opaopa]

 

This chart is pretty interesting...

[DtotheK]

17 minutes ago, opaopa said:

This chart is pretty interesting...

At the risk of sounding simple-minded, but for the greater good of other simpletons thinking the same thing - why is this interesting?

Looks like their volume has not much affect on price - midway in the chart there's solid volume but price shifts massively. Towards the end there's (relatively) lots more volume but price is stable as a rock. What does it mean... the volume is either useless, or else that she's about to blow soon?

 

[exodus3252]

It's wash trading and fake volume. This week alone, one day they accounted for almost 40% of all volume (per LiveCoinWatch), and the following day, that amount was less than 10%. It seems like their volume flairs up whenever other combined market volume falls off significantly. It has the effect of buoying the price. You could say this is a form of manipulation. Price manipulation in crypto goes both ways.

[opaopa]

1 hour ago, DtotheK said:

At the risk of sounding simple-minded, but for the greater good of other simpletons thinking the same thing - why is this interesting?

Looks like their volume has not much affect on price - midway in the chart there's solid volume but price shifts massively. Towards the end there's (relatively) lots more volume but price is stable as a rock. What does it mean... the volume is either useless, or else that she's about to blow soon?

 

I think your questions are the same as mine and of course i don't know "the answer". 

"Volume drives price" is something you hear a lot, but it is not necessarily true. Wash traders at least try to influence the market through this mechanism. And what is behind this consistent volume ~ a week before the price increase? It surely isn't natural and as OP says it is probably wash trading. So lets presume the volume comes from an attempt to affect the price and that the effort isn't in vain (and there is some effort behind this, why would the go through the effort if it had no effect?). So lets interpret the chart to best fit the presumption of the volume having an effect on price. (in chronological order):

1. No volume in the beginning of the period - normal bear market.

2. Volume increase, consistent volume for a week ending at the same time as the peak in price. Volume momentum comes before price movement.

3. As the momentum of the volume decreases so does the momentum of the price, "cushioning" on the plateau on the way down (close to the end of october). Volume momentum comes before price,

4. The downwards momentum of price is abrupted by volume at the start of october. Volume before price.

5. Price stabilizes with inconsistent to no volume throughout october.

6. Beginning of November we have close to double the volume over one day. Does volume come before price again?

I think someone is trying to manipulate the price to increase. I think it is potentially bad for XRPs long term price and i think manipulation in general is unhealthy for the market. And yes I am "all in" so i don't FUD.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2018 by opaopa

[PG1]

2 hours ago, mistatee2000 said:

I have noticed for some weeks that there have been xrp volume spikes on this exchange which have very significant, either on pairings XRP/QC or BTC ( don't know what QC is either). Now it is mostly XRP/BTC and as of writing, their total share of XRP traded volume stands at 50%. 

It is assumed to be "wash trading", whatever that may be, but is this manipulation? 

Can anyone throw any light on this?

Yes, volume manipulation mainly to increase site ranking on aggregator sites & referral traffic.  This article does a good job explaining it:

https://blog.cryptoexchangeranks.com/industry-news/magic-trading-volume-the-case-of-zb-com/

[mistatee2000]

17 minutes ago, PG1 said:

Yes, volume manipulation mainly to increase site ranking on aggregator sites & referral traffic.  This article does a good job explaining it:

https://blog.cryptoexchangeranks.com/industry-news/magic-trading-volume-the-case-of-zb-com/

Many thanks.I really appreciate that and the article certainly helps to understand the dynamics of this exchange

[DtotheK]

Will read the article. I'm novice when it comes to understanding markets. Yes... I recall the tether printing craze did coincide with wash trading on bitfinex - obviously that was topical - but I don't recall ZB.com being mentioned at that time. Perhaps people who looked into it just happened not to notice, or perhaps ZB.com had some alternative way of performing wash trading such that it was more private/hidden. It's fascinating to imagine those battles of Mr. Robot between the Americans and Chinese for the future of the financial system.

And Jimmy Zhao in the middle of it, though I doubt that's his real name.

Edited November 2, 2018 by DtotheK