there is nothing in the news that you can relate to the current price spike. but i don't think it's manipulation. it's probably due to a few large players is securing themselves a decent position in bitcoin before the price start to go up again. whatever the reason really is, it's a more than welcome bit of market action that we have been waiting for.
I agree..if we are lucky..the price will creep up for these simple facts
1) Adoption...is growing ..even if modestly that would be great
because
2) mining has halved...thus 1/2 the dump of mined BTC into the exchanges
thus
3) law of supply and demand....if adoption grows and halving is 1/2 coins created and people are still stockpiling or keeping their hoard
the price should rise....a little/modestly/lots/moon
imho it is all how btc is being adopted..in my view as a 'store of value' if you are in a country in the world with corrupt banks/gov't and it is a wise move
to keep gold under your house just in case.....btc is ideal for such as a virtual gold
anyway so my biased 'moon' logic goes
So for me I have 100 BTC from mining....I am looking at 4 things in some kinda plan for the coming year
1) paying off all my electric and equipment invested in such (about 25%) to knock it down to zero debt. Can probably pull it off before miners go doorstop
2) holding that 100 btc if it goes up or moon great
3) if it goes sideways due to adoption and grows from now on like a regular stock at say 5% or 10% I can deal with that too
4) it all goes to the bottom of the well...splat....beanie baby prices....well I'm out of debt
so the coming year that is the plan if 100 btc don't cut the cake another 25 btc by end of life of my knc titans is not gonna make a lot of difference compared to 0 debt imho
So far it is doing what I have expected it to do....sideways/up/sideways/up etc due to my 'suspected' adoption worldwide as a store of value