So far this issue of market manipulation has no hard facts or evidence that this is actually happening this are all speculations.
Manipulation patterns are obvious, but indeed, without actual proof we can't say it's actually happening, even though we for sure know it happens.
Think about it, if multi trillion dollar asset markets are subject to manipulation, don't you think the same entities will throw in some pocket change and play with Bitcoin in the same way? I think it's actually pretty foolish to not think there is manipulation going on. The market is heavily being manipulated right now, and this manipulation has been going on since the very beginning of Bitcoin being a tradable asset.
Bitcoin's market is extremely illiquid, especially in traditional market standards, so just a small amount of capital from institutions is enough to make Bitcoin go beyond the moon straight to Jupiter. If we also add that you only need to manipulate the price on one or two main exchanges, then they can even blast the price to Pluto.
It will even take someone who is not an experienced trader or someone who simply does not know what manipulation looks like to come up with the saying that the market is not manipulated. I believe it is glaring enough for any regular trader and you are very right. The chart alone is even enough proof if anyone is looking for any.
I also agree with you on the fact that, bitcoin is simply a very small market for institutions to play with, most especially since it is decentralized anyway, which totally makes it even easier for them to achieve.