This is something that mainstream media, tv segments, online segments, interviews etc have all been denying. When there are more shares in existence, it could theoretically  cause a short squeeze ( a sudden price surge that can go to prices as high as investors are willing to sell)

When stock trades are done “Off Exchange” it means the price is not impacted. There is no supply and demand. It would be comparable to a public auction closing its doors to the public, but still allowing certain buyers and sellers to do their own transactions without competition or bids (so they dont pay more […]