Second Life Currency Crisis?

That means that more than $130,000 left the SL market over the course of the month, mostly through fees associated with uploading images, sounds and animations to SL or through charges for classified advertisements, while more than $580,000 was added to the SL market in October, mostly through stipends paid to premium users and monthly sales of the Linden currency through the LindeX. The difference between sinks and sources meant a net inflow of $450,000 during October.

While November's first week of sinks and sources are mostly congruent with October's numbers through one week, there has been a jump in what Linden has dubbed "other sinks." Linden attributes these miscellaneous sinks to Linden currency removed from the system from cancelled accounts, gift promotions, educational event support and other temporary transaction types.

Through only one week in November, that miscellaneous number has pushed total sinks higher by 47.3% compared to October's monthly total. Roughly $185,000 in sinks have been removed over the past week from Second Life's world, compared to just $58,000 throughout all of October. Meanwhile, just $76,000 has flowed into Second Life. Through November's first week, outflows have outpaced inflows by $109,000, reversing the previous month's trend.

However, Linden Lab Chief Financial Officer John Zdanowski is abating fears by clarifying why money is exiting Second Life so quickly just one week into November.