RAVE Token Plummets 90% in One Day Amid Exchange Investigations

A whopping $5.7 billion in market capitalization vanished within 48 hours, triggered by a 90% crash of RaveDAO's RAVE token after Binance and Bitget launched probes into unusual trading patterns that propelled the token to a $6 billion market cap. The investigation was confirmed by Bitget CEO Gracy Chen and Binance co-CEO Richard Teng, who stated that the exchange would examine signs of market misconduct. Gate.io was also implicated in the allegations made by onchain investigator ZachXBT, who offered a $25,000 bounty for whistleblowers with evidence. The project's denial on Saturday failed to stabilize the token's price, which continued to plummet. RaveDAO posted a statement on X, asserting that the team was not responsible for the recent price action, but failed to address specific onchain allegations, including the concentration of 90% of the RAVE supply in three Gnosis Safe multi-signature wallets attributed to the team. The original rally saw RAVE surge from $0.25 to $27.33 in nine days, resulting in $44 million in liquidations on Friday. Investigators identified a 'bait and liquidate' pattern, where token transfers to exchanges suggested sell pressure, drawing traders into short positions before the tokens were withdrawn and prices skyrocketed. RaveDAO, a Web3 entertainment platform, reported $3 million in revenue in 2025 and has partnerships with Binance, OKX, Bitget, and Polygon. The project confirmed plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens to fund operations and marketing, but did not commit to a specific lockup mechanism or timeline.