The interesting bit about the stability is the fact that 12,000 new bitcoins enter circulation every week. The miners have to sell in order to pay the power bills (or they are simply holding since the mining has centralized to the bigger players with deep pockets).
So, how is the price remaining stable then? The general thought I've seen is that they are selling on private markets and it is the institutions and funds that are buying them up.
There are private individuals, a.k.a. 'whales', that have millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to sell. These people can't sell on the exchanges we hear about because these exchanges do not have buyers on them wanting to buy huge quantities of Bitcoin.
You can't just go along to an online exchange and sell millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, not only is there the problem of finding a buyer but there is also the problem of price. You could find people only wanting to pay a hugely discounted price with the 'market price' falling due to the surplus availability. This is not in the interest of a 'whale' as a big sale could render the rest of the portfolio to be worthless.
Instead of trading 'over the counter' these people are 'serviced' by an entirely different breed of traders that attempt to match buyers and sellers. These intermediaries try to get their percentage, however, as soon as buyer meets seller the need for the middle man and his cut is eliminated. These sales also take a long time to organise, so it is more like trying to sell a house than buying some candy at a convenience store. In this sales environment the price is different to the headline price and not as volatile. Much like house sales though there is a huge likelihood that a given sale will not go through.
Your stereotypical Bitcoin bore only really dreams of getting the 'Lambo to the moon'. In the bigger scheme of things a fancy sports car isn't really that expensive, it is just a bit of bent tin with a fancy paint job. These greedy dreamers are not currently trading their little coin things, they are in the same boat as the 'whales' that can't sell, they are just 'Holding On for Deal Life', a.k.a. 'HODLing'. They might as well be praying for rain.
The price is 'stable' not only due to the problems of large and small 'investors'. There is always the hope that some regulatory approval will come along to make it so that institutions and funds will enter the market. As things currently stand Bitcoin is a 'commodity' whereas every s4itcoin is a 'unregulated security'. So it could be Bitcoin that is undervalued and, when the institutional investors come along, the 'asset' will reach its true value of '50K'. That is the dream and the hope that keeps small time Bitcoin bores HODLing on to their imaginary stores of 'wealth'. This time next year they will obviously be able to pay the deposit on that second hand 'Lambo' proving them to be wealthy.
We are sharing this planet with a cargo-cult group of Bitcoin believers that will not let their dreams be shattered. They no longer talk of 'ICO' blockchain things, they have also kind of given up on the general population becoming the 'greater fools' that will buy their imaginary coin things at a huge premium from them. There really is just this belief in Bitcoin getting to be magically approved by financial authorities and them being able to see a return when mythical institutions buy big shortly thereafter.
Despite the obvious jealousy? hatred? distaste?, a very interesting response. I didn't consider that the ETF's might not actually be for the investors, but might be more interesting for the people wanting to exit their large bitcoin holdings. Good point on that.
Have you heard the news about the Coinbase/Circle stablecoin? What are your thoughts there?
So, how is the price remaining stable then? The general thought I've seen is that they are selling on private markets and it is the institutions and funds that are buying them up.