really bad, who would invest in a coin to see his btc balance cut in half
Man you have no clue what you're talking about. Bots increase transaction volume, which is never bad for a coin.
Bots cannot sell only to push price down. The need to buy as well. With historical lows like now, they must have bought in higer in order to sell now.
Third thing: coordinated pump as a long term price encreasing tool? Seriously, chill. I have no clue where you get your ideas from.
Price of vert will increase when demand exceeds supply. Currently supply is high, and the current block halving is not competitive with other coins imho (just my personal opinion - too high inflation).
This demand increase can be caused by multiple things, including changing the fundamental features of the coin, connecting unique services, sudden rush for no reason (this is temp), etc.