Well now I am starting to wonder how long it can maintain this orderly gradual drop. What do you guys think is the panic point that will start a faster selloff and complete the penny stock pattern?
There are no doubt many miners out there who bought equipment specifically for mining. If their investments have not been paid off yet they may approach the "ah, stuff it!' point where they see the recouping of their costs drifting further into the distance while their hardware depreciates in value. If enough cut their losses and run (sell up and dump BTCs) we may see a significant drop as I doubt there are enough cashed up investors on the other side to buy up all the coins. Even the most ardent bitcoin booster must wonder whether if it's worth buying bitcoins today at US$12.85 when they could be US$11 tomorrow.
I sold a bunch of coins around US$18 to pay costs. Looks like a pretty good decision at the moment. BTC's value has been in a steady decline for almost a month. It's not immune to the general shenanigans happening at the moment in the USA and PIIGS.