Investigations Launched into RAVE Token's 4,500% Price Surge Amid Insider Trading Allegations

Following allegations of insider-orchestrated market manipulation, leading cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token. The token experienced a remarkable 4,500% surge over the course of a week, prompting concerns of a potential short squeeze engineered by insiders. Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, confirmed the exchange's investigation, while Binance CEO Richard Teng stated that the platform would examine signs of market misconduct. ZachXBT, the onchain sleuth who first raised the allegations, has offered a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to come forward with evidence. The RAVE token's sudden rise led to over $44 million in positions being liquidated in a single day, with nearly 90% of its supply concentrated in just three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time. Millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges shortly before the price surge began. RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, has reported $3 million in revenue in 2025 and claims to be unrelated to the recent price action. However, community reports have linked the project to figures associated with earlier crypto ventures, and the concentration of supply suggests the possibility of a 'bait and liquidate' pattern. RaveDAO has stated that it plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens 'when appropriate' and is exploring models that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth.