So they want crypto to go up so they can sell their altcoins like ETC? I don’t think it’ll work because many of those alts aren’t very liquid. If they start to sell 8 figures worth it’ll cause the alt to crash pretty much.
It they pump Bitcoin then they will benefit with the higher 2% fees for GBTC but if they need to buy back those BTC they will need to pay a higher price.
I am only speculating. However, it will certainly help to
plug the hole. According to the article, Sam was orchestrating a pump while also borrowing from lenders. Also, the manipulation might be on the illiquid altcoins market, however, the manipulators trade much of their money in futures trading where there might be more liquidity and they can also use leverage. The manipulators can also begin shorting the market once they are finished with the pump.