Has anybody ever really predicted which way the market will sway in 'x' month from now? The situation with the Ethereum price is not bad at all because as of writing it trades at over $3115 each. It is not at the $4891 all time high but it could have been a lot worse too. Those who might have purchased at $4000 will have very little impact influencing the price because they cannot be counted as whales and at the same time those you refer to as manipulators will also not be able to do anything to influence decisions by newbies to buy or sell.
I just do not accept the theory about influencers applies to Ethereum. In the past we have seen Bitcoin whales move funds from wallet to wallet or to cash some in which has impacted the market but I cannot recall of a single incident that has done the same for Ethereum. In my opinion, if the price of Ethereum goes up then the market will not be affected if newbies cash in because the ratio of newbie investors to serial investors is too small.
Now it is not clear which market, bulls or bears. I think that the bear market is now, because a lot of inexperienced investors bought Ethereum for more than $ 4,000 and manipulators need to force hamsters to sell their coins cheaply. If the price of Ethereum goes up, then I don't understand who will pay for it?
I am trying to understand various scenarios, but I am more confident that manipulators will not allow new investors to sell their coins at a profit.