Yes, I completely agree with your opinion, it's all about the project's potential or how it's doing. But not because of good news it will grow.
Though in crypto it's just mostly about speculation. It's a currency backed mostly by people speculating about its worth and rarity and that's about it all. So news will affect it no matter what, and people seem to just want to time the news these days
Basically, only large players in trading can affect the value of certain coins, while small trades have little effect on this dynamic.