Prices are being manipulated. I think it is strange that the majority of times, you can open an ADA/USD and BTC/USD window and watch them tick up and down pretty much at the same time and direction. I thought I would do an experiment.
On one of the exchanges I use, I first tried to buy Ada at $5 with a Limit Order. It always bought the ADA at the lowest price. I guess that’s a good thing. I then tried using a limit stop order trying to buy some ADA at $5 and $10 a token. At thoses price points, nothing happens. However, if I change that amount to something just a tad higher than the current price, those always get filled. I’ve also tried it in the opposite direction, if I try to sell very low, nothing happens. However, if I change that amount to something slightly lower than the current price, it sells immediately.
From what I can determine, there is a price cap/limit being placed on the token. Probably a percentage margin based on the current price. This begs the question of whether that margin is being set by a person(s) or by an algorithm and why. If it is a free market, I should be able to buy and sell ADA at any price the market will bear. For a seller, making 2x and 4x on the price of the token would be a no-brainer.
This also begs the question of why ADA is also being tied to Bitcoin when there are ADA/USD pairs.
I am not a professional trader, just a computer science guy. I’ve noticed a pattern, did a little testing, getting strange results for something that is supposed to be free-market, and am trying to understand why.
Thanks in advance!