The deliberate attempt to artificially influence the price or volume of a financial asset through deceptive or fraudulent practices. Common methods include pump-and-dump schemes, wash trading, spoofing, and spreading false information. Market manipulation is illegal in regulated markets.
Example
“A group coordinated a pump-and-dump scheme on a low-cap altcoin, buying heavily to inflate the price before dumping their holdings on unsuspecting retail traders who bought the hype.”