I feel that they say it´s a threat so people can move over easily to the crypto system. After all when you´re all in on digital fiat (Bitcoin, etc), you have the private keys so you think you have financial power.
However when the big boys in crypto get in and slam the prices down if they feel threatened, you may not be able to buy what you need. 5 LTC now could get you an iPhoneX, but if crypto manipulation really came in, 5 LTC might get you a flip phone that doesn´t support 4G.