Did the 2011 and 2013 bubbles pop because of MtGox ?
In 2011, MtGox was hacked *after* the price crashed to ~18, or 10 days after.
In 2013, the lag was bad, but it wasn't anything new. It was mostly felt on the way down.
I agree with this!
No one is denying that Gox has become a terrible service plagued with problems. But the popping of bubbles is not their fault. The lag only kicks in after orders begin processing. The ddos was not the cause of the burst either. If anything, the lag/ddos slowed the sell-off, otherwise we may have seen $10 after the ensuing panic. The lag and the "cool off period" allowed people to rethink their decision to panic sell.
I disagree, the bubble did not pop because people cashed out. It popped because people wanted to make a day trade and grow their portfolios. This is apparent from the record volume following in the days after the "pop".
Personally, after seeing lag get to 20 minutes+, I sold for this exact same reason. I knew people would sell after me, I was almost guaranteed a good trade by the time it executed, and I could always cancel it if it didn't pan out as planned.
I assume there's a very minor percentage of people that actually cashed out, as in, withdrawn their fiat after selling.
But yes, the trading lag did contribute greatly to the bubble popping the way it did. It offered everyone who was vigilant an incredible advantage. I'm fairly certain that if there wouldn't have been any lag, the drop would've stopped much sooner - maybe in the ~$180 range.