https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/13/much-of-bitcoins-2017-boom-was-market-manipulation-researcher-says.html

Bitcoin's epic rise last year may have been more than investor fervor. New research published Wednesday shows that at least half of the jump in bitcoin was due to coordinated price manipulation.

University of Texas finance professor John Griffin, who has a 10-year track record of spotting financial fraud, alongside graduate student Amin Shams examined millions of transactions on cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. In a 66-page paper, the authors found patterns suggesting certain people propped up bitcoin prices through another digital currency called tether.