Wouldnt that be a threat to a manufacturer like Bitmain? I think it is in their interest to pump BTC than give up and lose their billion dollar company. I know this is shocking, but Bitmain is already earning billions from ASIC miners.
We have seen this kind of pump done by them during the halving of mining rewards.
Yes - though Bitmain is insulated by the fact there are now so many bitcoin forks for miners to mine - bitcoincash, bitcoingold, etc etc.
But its in the best interest of every ASIC miner involved in cryptocurrencies for BTC to succeed. If it falls it will take every coin with it. Thats why I do not know why some altcoiners are so quick to indicate faults in BTC.