Bitcoin price is determined by the few whales who happened to hold since the early days. If they want they can pump BTC to 1M $ and if they want they can dump BTC to 100$.
Doesnt matter who you are, A BTC holder or a daily trader, whales control BTC price.
What I mean by whale? The person who have more than million Bitcoin.
Bitcoin technology is great but Market is compeletly different story.
Their manipulation is limited, much more than you think. Try to think, what would happen if one wanted to sell 1M
BTC?
First, its not possible to do in a single operation, every tiny little operation will affect the price.
So as the sell order is placed, people would start buying pieces of it lowering the price, the other sellers in the market will adjust so the whale would need to as well, again and again and again until the whole 1M gets sold. This is not instantaneous. Even if he started selling at 7k, who knows what price it would reach on average at the end.
You think he can just buy back again? The same process repeats in reverse, you will probably end losing more than having done nothing.
Market manipulation is not as magical as some people seem to think. And yes, whales have tried, and failed.
Dump to 100$ is nearly impossible at this point it would take too long and the rush to buy back those coins would simply not allow it to reach that low. Again, you cannot just sell 1M
BTC in a single operation, ignoring the legal formalities.
The free market is incredibly reliable, far better than any sort of State intervention. Pump and dump is something a whale may pull out with a little new altcoin, perhaps even in the very beginning of bitcoin, but not anymore.
Suppose all Satoshi coins are put for sale, that would still not be enough to "crash" Bitcoin, it simply doesn't work that way. The cheaper it gets, the higher the pressure to buy.
Market manipulation exists, but its much more limited than you think, thanks to this thing called "peers" (everyone else) it does self regulate itself. Especially when its something highly wanted, unlike some obscure altcoin.
Pump Bitcoin to 1M? There is just not enough money in the world for that. If you do your homework, you will notice that each "pump" and "dump" cycle is less and less % of Bitcoin's price over time, as the coin gets in the hands of more people, their manipulation ability shrinks. Of all the coins out there, bitcoin is the less manipulable, which in turns makes it more trusted. Maturity they call it.
The problem with some theorists is that everything works by magic inside their minds. Such as a perfect State controlled economy devoid of the "Evil" market forces. Until you try it, that is... And their arguments against the free market are just as absurd. If you are afraid of the free market, go ahead and move into one of the last "socialist" countries, see if you like living with a couple of USD per month, no healthcare, no education, no security, rampant corruption, shortages etc...
The freedom of bitcoin price ensures that, whatever price it has at any given point, it is a "true" price. Peg a coin artificially to any arbitrary price, and all you do is build pressure against a dam waiting to overflow... And once it does (and it will) it will take everything on its path...
The only alternative to freedom is even more freedom. More exchanges, more decentralization, etc. Speculate all you want, doesn't mean you can pull it out outside of your mind. But the fact that you can, is what ensures everything works. The moment the State intervenes, everything starts breaking apart. Luckily, bitcoin is immune to state intervention, which also gives you the freedom to, go ahead and try manipulating the market, see how long you can get.
I am absolutely sure, even if all whales tried selling bitcoin right now, it would still not crash it. A bit of fluctuation and a lot of action, yes, but never destruction as you claim it. Bitcoin is simply too useful for too many to fail like that, its only inside your imagination.
