I think you are defining manipulated as huge whales entering the market and paying millions of millions of dollars for a domain. Even if a whale buys a 4L for $1,000,000, it still isn't manipulation. Why? Because domains are on a spectacle of worth, and it all comes down to the seller. If you as a domain holder, own a specific domain, and specifically want way more money than current market evaluation, you are in your entire right to sell it for more. There are specific domains that I own that I would never let go unless I got $100k+, but maybe are only worth $30-40k right now. Why? Because I don't need the money, and I place a lot of value on the domain. However, if a whale comes by with the right price, I would be ok with selling. This is usually the case with these really expensive domain names, and almost all of them are really good. Now think about the kind of people who invested early in this market, they have well over millions of dollars. Why would they sell one of their domains for cheap when they have already more than made it in life? They can afford to step back unless someone big comes in and buys it. Which is what is happening, big players who want top pages for top dollar are paying huge amounts for great domains.