Ask Bitcoin Exchanges: Where are the IPs of the buyers/sellers from?

[ryan_j_naughton]

Calling all bitcoin exchanges (or equivalent places of purchase like coinbase):

It would be very insightful if you could provide aggregate analysis on where the buyers and sellers of bitcoins are from. Could you provide a blog post on this (likely using IP address-to-location lookups -- unless everyone is using TOR to purchase their coins).

Given a recent spate of articles on China's growing interest in bitcoin, many of us are hypothesizing that the recent appreciation is in part due to Chinese demand.

Then there has been Bernanke's statement lending credibility to the currency. That could result in more traditional investors finally taking the plunge.

Since there haven't been that many new merchant/places to spend bitcoin added in the past 3 weeks, the appreciation is almost certainly a signal of speculation (which we all know). What would be helpful is to know who these speculators are and how the makeup of bitcoin investors is changing through time.

[stocktradr]

Been a while since I've posted but here is what I know: Gold & Silver. A lot of people who trade commodities are actually moving portions of their investments into Bitcoins. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if there are a lot of Chinese buying Bitcoins but the few people I know around the world are from the commodities market. For IP address or locations? No clue. Wish I could help you there but I'm not sure.

I would say we have a bit of a ways to go before the big boys come into play from the stock market. They're going to be looking for more stability which Bitcoin doesn't offer yet. I think we'll see a progressive transition of portfolio diversification to account for newer currencies. So we might see something like: -10% Cryptocurrency -25% Commodity -10% Bonds -55% Stocks/Money Market ^very rough example.

Disclaimer: I'm not in Bitcoins but watch the charts throughout the day. Just my speculation of what is happening based on the grape vine.