I do not think the price fluctuations are because of market manipulation. I think The Russian Crypto ban was announced and a bunch of people dumped their holdings for fear of a market dip.
Then when people thought Russia may be Crypto friendly speculators thought it might increase in value. Hence the uptake in value.
In my experience in the crypto markets have discovered that all it takes is a rumor or mention by a celebrity to make the values rise and fall.