[calpaterson]

This is just what stock exchanges were like in the 19th and maybe early 20th centuries. Reading "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" which covers the period ~1890s-1920s I was stunned by how common (relative to now) inside trading, price manipulation and short squeezes were.

Most of these are now prohibited which I'm sure doesn't eliminate them but it makes them much less common - short squeezes in particular are now very very rare. BTC markets obviously won't have any restrictions.

Amazon link for anyone interested in the book (make sure you get the annotated edition): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0470481595/

[jnordwick]

In that book he actually describes how he can't manipulate the market even though he was blamed for it i real life. The moral is that the market cannot be forced into submission and you need to just accept that fact and take what it gives you.

[eigenvalue]

Short squeezes happen all the time. Look at the ticker RH in the past few months, or AMD over the past couple days!

[peller]

I think perhaps a better example would be the bulk shipping industry during November of last year; take a look at DRYS in particular. $5 to $120 in a week, followed immediately by a breakdown right back to $5. (It's split a bunch of times since then, so the adjusted prices on a current chart are different, but what's important to note is the exponential shape of the price action in conjunction with absolutely zero fundamental reasons for a price increase.)