Last Friday, the crypto market has rocked again. Within hours, billions of dollars of leveraged positions were liquidated, leaving behind a sea of red liquidations and incomprehension.
And it is so in three main ways.
1. Exchanges and whales: the game of giants
The first and most blatant manipulation comes from above.
exchanges, these platforms that are supposed to embody market neutrality, are in reality the largest digital casinos ever created. They have access to everything: orders, liquidations, stop levels, traders' positions.
In other words, they know where et when press to make the table jump.
When a sudden spike in volatility occurs—often on a Friday night, a perfect time when liquidity is scarce—it's no accident.
Some “whales” (high net worth individuals or institutions with thousands of BTC or ETH) and a few accomplice exchanges are enough to cause a domino effect: a cascade of forced liquidations that causes the market to plunge, allowing insiders to buy back at low prices.
It's an old game, but in version 3.0.
And as long as the majority of users leave their funds on centralized platforms, the rules will not change.
2. Cryptocurrencies without fundamentals: marketing as a driving force
The second form of manipulation is more subtle — and often granted.
It is based on a simple fact: Most cryptocurrencies have no real use..
They do not generate flows, serve no purpose in the economy, and are not based on any tangible infrastructure.
They are just wind… wrapped in storytelling.
The more we talk about it, the higher the price goes.
It's the law of supply and demand, certainly, but applied to assets whose perceived value is based solely on the noise they generate.
A viral TikTok video, a tweet from an influencer, a rumored announcement—and a token soars 300% in 24 hours.
The next day, it crashes just as quickly.
meme coins understood it before everyone else.
They assume they are hot air, and that is precisely why they work.
They promise nothing, build nothing—they ride on the one thing modern finance still understands: the buzz.
In a world saturated with images and dopamine, these projects capture attention, and therefore, mechanically, value.
3. Fabricated narratives: the illusion of collective meaning
The third form of manipulation is the most insidious: that of narratives.
It is the carefully nurtured belief that every new crypto cycle has a “reason.”
NFTs, metaverse, AI, restaking, RWA, Layer 2, DeFi 2.0…
Every year, a new magic word becomes the self-fulfilling prophecy of the market.
In reality, these narratives are often manufactured by funds, media and insiders.
Their goal: to create a new story to attract fresh capital—from individuals, new entrants, dreamers of financial freedom.
They artificially inflate an industry, reap the profits at the top, and leave the general public to hold the bag when the mirage dissipates.
This mechanism is not new.
It is even perfectly rational: the crypto market is not a space of pure innovation, but a human behavior laboratory.
Where fear and greed meet, manipulators thrive.
Bitcoin, the exception that proves the rule
Ironically, Bitcoin is the only crypto to escape this logic.
Its fixed offer, its decentralized infrastructure and its lack of marketing direction make it a UFO in this world of artifice.
It has no CEO, no fundraising, and no changing storytelling.
And that's precisely what makes it resilient.
Bitcoin doesn't try to seduce: it exists.
Other cryptos seek to exist: they seduce, they sell.
In conclusion
The cryptocurrency market is not a neutral space.
It is a shadow theatre where crowd psychology, the strategies of the powerful and the illusion of progress collide.
But understanding these three forms of manipulation —
👉 the exchange maneuvers,
👉 the emptiness of projects without fundamentals,
👉 and the making of narratives —
it's already taking back a part of power.
The real investor does not shy away from manipulation:
the the see, he includes, and he learns not to fall prey to it.
