I’ve been to the Market today – no, not the *market*-market, the Steem currency market [Here](https://steemit.com/market)

http://i.imgur.com/XYeoL54.jpg

It all started with the challenge I set myself for the entertainment of my Facebook followers and friends. I swapped 100% Power up option for the 50/50 one. Then I took my dosh, cash, moolah, readies and off to the market I went. I started with the equivalent of £65 (I think) and I now have a little over $160SBD sitting in my transactions tray.

It’s certainly amusing.

http://i.imgur.com/LEoae6x.jpg

I’ve watched a peculiar thing over the last few days, there was a ‘someone’ setting the price – fixing it, really. $40 sat at the top of both columns – the left hand is the price ‘someone’ is willing to buy your Steem at and the right is the price they then wish to sell it at.

The difference in both prices was a profit of 8c per transaction. 

In other words, every $40 sold, they achieved 8c in profit - assuming the price they bought at was the price in the other column, of course.

To me, that could only be profitable if it was a bot doing all the trading – a mindless drone adjusting the prices to an algorithm. I deduced it had to be a bot because as soon as the $40 sold, another $40 sprang up either at the same price or a little over it.

Today has been a little different, and therefore, far more amusing for me.

I’ve watched the price rise from 0.140000 (14c) to the heady heights of… wait for it… **0.280000** – OOOH! DOUBLE what it started at a couple of days ago.

Yeah, I know, I get excited easily… that’s not actually the amusing bit though.

The bot seems to have developed a little glitch – either that or the excitement got to it. *Office party perhaps?*

The price for most of the Steem is hovering around 0.260000 but the bot has been putting in sales at 0.240000 and keeping it there. The problem is, ‘someone’ comes along, buys ALL the bot’s stock and sells it at the higher price. 

The bot doesn’t seem able to keep up with the wild fluctuations and unfortunately, in the attempt to keep the sale price at 0.240000 it seems to be buying at over that at times. It looks like the ‘Buy’ column is still working to the algorithm and sets the price accordingly when the price rises in the other column. The problem there is that the selling part of that partnership is living in the past and misses the moment.

I suspect that bot may get retired soon – without a pension.

http://i.imgur.com/LRhZPu8.png
Go home Robot, you’re drunk!

Pics from pixabay