I am not saying to completely discard such volume, even though there has been some admissions that some of it is fake and we also know that there are a lot of bots in place, as well, based on no fee trading. Furthermore, when there is that much volume and admissions of fakeness, we also have to consider that there may be some fractional reserves going on there, too.
Ok, I'll take the health warning on the volume trends.
I just think that people need to be more rigorous about backing up such statements. You yourself have asserted you don't like "binary statements" (possibly you referred to them as "absolutes"). Well think about how much trading would be required to actually dominate the volume trends - you'd have to effectively render the entire market as insignificant. You'd be dominating the price as well as volume and the costs (losses) would be enormous.
The only way to reasonably do it would be to fake the whole market IMO - in other words a fractional reserve basis as you say.
All the same, there isn't the same volume pattern on Western exchanges so that does add weight to your view.
I'll keep an open mind on it
Fair enough. I think that you have pretty decent analysis, and sure each of us are taking into account a variety of factors within our attempts to understand various factors (and even to account for misinformation).
I think that as long as you are considering a variety of factors, and attempting to back up what you say, then that is certainly a lot more than many posters attempt to accomplish.. so definitely have to applaud you for making those various efforts to attempt to back up how you arrived at your various conclusions (even if I may not agree with all of it).
Another thing is that it can be quite bold (and even ballsy) to make some predictions when the price begins to move a lot. I think that it becomes more and more difficult to come up with a decent theory regarding where the price is going.
I remain somewhat of the opinion that the price battle has not really begun yet, because I am more or less of the conclusion that the trade volume remains mediocre (looking at the trade volume on the western exchanges). You recall (of course you can look back at it) that there was an ongoing fairly intense trade volume from about August 2015 all the way until almost the end of 2015. Western exchanges certainly are capable of increased BTC trade volume, which I expect to take place at some point when the price battle begins. I personally expect such battle before reaching $850, but certainly it is possible (as you seem to be suggesting) that such a battle may not occur until prices shoot well beyond $850 (and I would assert that price battle would then take place in the higher than $1,500s, and probably in the $3k to $5k range, but in the end, I really have my doubts and I am thinking that the chances are fairly decent that we will witness a price battle before the mid-$800s... even though I would be pleasantly surprised - and likely financially prosper considerably - if such a price battle does not begin until after $850).