Winkdex Provides New and Accurate Price Index for Bitcoins

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are no strangers to the spotlight, having competed on the U.S. Olympic rowing team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics after suing Facebook’s (News - Alert) Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, which resulted in a $65 million settlement. The twins are now enjoying the limelight once again for launching Winkdex, one of the newest and most advanced price indexes for bitcoins available.

Ever since MtGox halted fund withdrawals on Feb. 7, data sources that determined the value of bitcoins became increasingly unreliable. Currently, several issues plague bitcoin and prevent it from becoming a widely accepted form of currency, and an inconsistent method for determining the value of a bitcoin added even more to the confusion. However, by using a patented and secretive formula to determine value, Winkdex seeks to resolve the issue of price confusion.

Their pricing index crawls through the data provided by several leading bitcoin exchanges like Britain’s Bitstamp and the Bulgarian BTC-E. The prices listed by each site are averaged together, but the specific Winkdex formula applies several other metrics like account volume and how rapidly transactions are occurring. Those that conduct multiple trades within a two-hour period, for example, are given greater weight towards calculating the actual value of bitcoins. The result is one of the most trusted and accurate bitcoin price index ever made.

Bitcoins have come under recent attack recently due to a withdrawal exploit that allowed some site users to trick the site into repeatedly making withdrawals until the funds were depleted. These attacks struck websites like Silk Road 2 and MtGox, which prompted their recent stance of denying all withdrawals whatsoever.

There are still many hurdles to pass before bitcoin becomes a widely accepted currency around the world, with static value and Internet security being just small parts of the issue. The fact that bitcoins fluctuate in value so rapidly ultimately diminishes their ability to be used as a standard currency, and until they reach a relatively stable value, they are more akin to stocks than they are to money outright. However, the Winkdex allows consumers to track the current value of their bitcoins, which could help lead to stability in the long run.