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

Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token, following allegations by on-chain analyst ZachXBT that insiders orchestrated a significant short squeeze, driving the token's rapid price increase. Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, confirmed the exchange's investigation, while Binance's CEO, Richard Teng, stated that the platform is also examining the claims and will always investigate signs of market misconduct. Another exchange, Gate, was also implicated in ZachXBT's investigation. Additionally, ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty to whistleblowers who come forward with evidence about the parties involved. The relatively unknown project experienced a massive rally, resulting in over $44 million in RAVE positions being liquidated in a single day, with most of these positions being bearish. The short squeeze highlighted the concentration of RAVE tokens within a small set of wallets, with nearly 90% of the supply held in just three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time. Investigators also noted that millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges shortly before the rally began. RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, offering blockchain-based ticketing and community governance, reported $3 million in revenue in 2025. However, the token's market behavior has been volatile, trading below $0.50 for most of its history before surging in April. The token's price jumped from around $0.30 to over $6 in a single day and climbed past $27 before receding. At its peak, the token's market value briefly exceeded $6 billion, placing it among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization before dropping. The token is now down more than 50% from its peak and 30% over the last 24 hours. Some have described the price action as a 'bait and liquidate' pattern, where visible transfers suggest selling pressure, drawing traders into short positions, only to have those tokens withdrawn while prices rise, forcing short sellers to buy back at higher prices. RaveDAO has addressed the situation, stating that the team is not responsible for the recent price action and plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens 'when appropriate.' The project is exploring models that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth but has not committed to a specific mechanism or timeline.