I forgot to mention that there was also bullish divergence which took place from May to July. If entities were to collude to manipulate a market, this would be the way to do it. Slightly higher highs or slightly lower lows that give the impression a large breakout or breakdown will occur, but then it doesn't occur, can induce anxiety with retail investors/traders. It could also just be normal market behavior, but regardless, detecting false strength or false weakness is pretty important.