[Adlai]

Such scams only raise the price if the fools hold Bitcoin instead of what they most likely do: sell it for local currency. The scam's popularity does boost transaction volume, critical to the emergence of a fee market.

[davidgerard]

There's been a lot more full blocks lately.

They do raise the price, but only temporarily. Note the dizzying volatility, where it touched $500 briefly before dropping to $370.

Also, note the remarkable spread between CNY and USD prices.