Just a single player or entity was allegedly responsible for Bitcoin’s historic price surge, as suggested by a recently updated academic paper titled “Is Bitcoin Really Un-Tethered?” Originally released in the summer of last year, the study claimed that major Bitcoin (BTC) price manipulation occurred in winter 2017, prompting top cryptocurrencies to reach their all-time highs. The Tether (USDT) stablecoin and its issuer Bitfinex played a key role in the alleged hoax, the researchers also argued.
The newer version of the paper maintains the same assumption, but additionally asserts that a single whale controlled the price movement. Bitfinex denies all allegations, calling the publication “a transparent attempt to use the semblance of academia for a mercenary money grab.” Analysts are not convinced either — in their view, while the crypto market is not immune to manipulation, saying that someone could single-handedly drive the prices up to such an extent is quite a stretch.