Does anyone else feel Crypto markets are at extreme manipulation these days?

Despite "Manipulation" being a very strong legal word in the world of investing, institutional investors, traders and hedge funds make their living by manipulating the market. A big reason why SEC was created back in the days but SEC's existence hasn't really eliminated the manipulation.

Somehow, having been watching the Crypto market more closely in the recent past, it feels extremely well managed/ manipulated right now. The price action, narrative, order-books - they all seem very very measured if you look at the market trends day to day. It feels prices are maintained at certain levels and huge amount of trading activities are taking place in micro pump-and-dump manner - a well proven approach to rekt retail investors.

I am not sure why that would happen. Maybe the bears want to keep the prices low but bulls are not ready for prices to breakout beyond their buying territory. Maybe bulls don't have the confidence yet in the market. Maybe bears just want to play the upper hand. Maybe something else. It's very weird and unclear why this is happening.

Curious what this sub's observation has been and what you all think about it?