RAVE Token Plunges 90% in 24 Hours Amid Exchange Investigations

A staggering $5.7 billion in market capitalization vanished in just 48 hours, sparked by a 90% crash of RaveDAO's RAVE token following investigations launched by cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget. The token's downfall began after it skyrocketed to a $6 billion market cap, prompting the exchanges to examine potential market misconduct. The probe was confirmed by Bitget CEO Gracy Chen and Binance co-CEO Richard Teng, who emphasized the importance of reviewing signs of misconduct. The collapse accelerated despite RaveDAO's denial of involvement in the price surge, which was posted on X in a six-part thread. The team claimed it was not responsible for the recent price action but failed to address specific on-chain allegations, including the concentration of 90% of the 1 billion RAVE supply across three Gnosis Safe multi-signature wallets attributed to the team. The original price rally saw RAVE jump from $0.25 to $27.33 in just nine days, resulting in $44 million in liquidations on Friday, mostly from short sellers. Investigators identified a 'bait and liquidate' pattern, where token transfers to exchanges suggested sell pressure, only to be withdrawn and drive prices higher, forcing short sellers to cover at unfavorable levels. RaveDAO positions itself as a Web3 entertainment platform, offering on-chain ticketing for electronic music events. The project reported $3 million in revenue in 2025 and boasts partnerships with prominent players in the industry. In its thread, RaveDAO confirmed plans to liquidate unlocked tokens to fund operations and marketing, exploring models that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth, but did not commit to a specific lockup mechanism or timeline.