How feasible would it be for an establishment (i.e. the US gov.) or group (i.e. Int. banking cartels) to manipulate the price of bitcoin and engineer a crash or other event of some sort to discredit bitcoin in they eyes of the public or otherwise profit? We all know that bitcoin is based on solid tech, but one look at Fox news will tell you the majority of the public doesn't care about facts or educating themselves on something.

This isn't some sort of conspiracy theory thread, but a worst case What If? scenario. Bitcoiners seem to have a healthy amount of paranoia so it's probably a good idea to consider and discuss all possibilities.

What kind of scheme could this indicate?
Who stand to profit?
How feasible would it be for a group to artificially inflate the market? (buy up all the cheap coins and put progressively higher asks out on them until the public starts to take over for them?)
What's the worst thing that could happen to bitcoin if the bubble pops?
etc.