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There are numerous stories out there linking the rise in bitcoin prices seen in the last few weeks with events in Cyprus.

Some stories go as far as claiming that Cypriots are buying the things themselves as an "alternative store of value" e.g:

Looking for a way to transfer their finances into something more stable, Cypriots have flooded the Bitcoin market, dumping millions of Euros into the fledgling online market.

Is there any actual concrete evidence that Cypriots (or I've also seen Greeks and Spaniards mentioned as buyers) are really doing this? (All I can find is speculation apparently based on the timing of events).

Oddthinking
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timday
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  • Hoho. After putting this up it's just been pointed out to me that bitcoin prices have just plummeted £174 to £70 in the last 8-9 hours or so. – timday Apr 10 '13 at 20:00
  • Related to that country http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/14006/could-obligatory-screening-for-thalassemia-in-cyprus-violate-the-bioethical-rule maybe we need a new tag? – Carlo Alterego Apr 10 '13 at 20:30
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    @Carlo_R. Done. – Andrew Grimm Apr 11 '13 at 06:21

1 Answers1

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Aha: In a Der Spiegel article I find

Because the current boom began during the Cyprus crisis, there was much speculation that it was primarily anxious Cypriots and Spaniards who were using bitcoin as an inflation-proof, safe-haven currency. Jon Matonis of the Bitcoin Foundation, which sees itself as an advocacy group for fans of the alternative currency, disagrees. "Most transactions are still coming from affluent regions, like the United States and Northern Europe," he says. "What we are seeing is not a Cyprus bubble."

And in fact Ars had this well covered in an article a couple of weeks ago too which concludes:

But there's still no hard evidence to suggest ordinary investors in Spain, Russia, or anywhere else have been driving Bitcoin's recent rise.

timday
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