Of course, the crypto currency market is manipulated. Manipulators can be divided into groups:
1. Large investors Large investors may be, for example, large corporations, who suddenly decided to enter the crypto-currency market.  This category is able to manipulate all, including the whales below. 
2. Currency exchanges play mostly "quietly", but, nevertheless, it is often impossible not to notice how they "push" the crypto-currencies in one direction or another.  These players are always winning and, as a rule, absolutely unpunished. 
3. Large traders can appear as trustees of many people and play on speculations in a short time.  Such players are able at the right time to create waves that knock off the usual traders.
4. Large HODL'ers and miners. And finally, the least dangerous of the manipulators are players.  They maintain stability and growth of the crypto currency and only occasionally are able to shake the market when the patience of HODL'it runs out.