Hey!
Doesn't shapeshift and the likes dump it on the market automatically too?
When you say "dump", no they don't have an open sell order that just dumps it all. Most of these companies go in both directions, so they likely hold and hedge in a bull market, they also sell back to customers who want to buy. Every day or week, they probably settle on an exchange or sell large blocks to other companies.
Also, they buy/sell dozens of pairs of even more immature currencies than Steem.
For a small seller/buyer it does not make a difference, however I never recommend keeping money at an exchange.
"however I never recommend keeping money at an exchange."
Agreed, they are just a stepping to stone to my cold storage.
Thanks for the info.
FWIW on another coin, when using Shapeshift as an experiment, I saw a sell order of the exact amount I sent them immediately after it had one confirm. I haven't looked at the behavior for Steem yet.
in my dealings with shapeshift, i can confirm that they do not make their settlements unless they have to. shapeshift has often not been able to buy as much steem as I want to sell to them, and these are generally small amounts.
I don't think it is as profitable, at least not yet, to run these multi-crypto OTC dealer businesses, but I think they probably are doing ok. They basically act as buffers between the in-and-out of the various cryptos out there. I hope more of them spring up, because I hate dealing with exchanges.