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".
So what you're saying is until now, miners could afford to make less money, but now that they're stuck with all the new HW, they have to get serious? Is that the gist of it, or am I missing something?
Chinese exchanges are in business to make money. Miners going broke doesn't add any new tools to the exchanges' manipulation arsenal. If they could manipulate the price, they're already doing it.