Couldn't they artificially pump up the price so all that mining hardware that must have cost fortunes,
can pay for itself as soon as possible?
If they could, why didn't they do it before their hardware became unprofitable, to simply boost their profits?
And why would anyone invest in a virtual asset which could be so easily manipulated?
Because the mining gear that accounts for the 220 mil GH/s network hash rate increase, came online only recently. Probably early
november.That investment needs to brake even fast. There is clearly demand out there, even at these prices but not to sustain it with out China's "help".
As for the second question: Only invest what you can afford to lose.Personally, I think China's greed will bring the death of bitcoin, unless we magically get audited and regulated Chinese Bitcoin exchanges somehow without crashing the entire BTC economy.