Probably. As others have pointed out markets have been manipulated since the dawn of man. You get a few people together who control over a hundred thousand Bitcoin and then allow them to use margin. They can do whatever they want with the price

However this is exactly why it's likely to go higher. It's in their best interest to draw in as many people as possible if they ever want to diversify out. It also creates these upward and downward Cycles which allows them to increase their Holdings as they sell into the Euphoria and buy panic