RAVE Token Plunges 90% in 24 Hours Amid Exchange Investigations

A staggering $5.7 billion in market capitalization vanished within 48 hours, accompanied by three wallets and a denial from RaveDAO. The RAVE token's price crashed by 90% over 24 hours after Binance and Bitget initiated investigations into trading activities that drove the token's market cap to $6 billion last week. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen and Binance co-CEO Richard Teng confirmed the probes, with Gate.io also implicated in the allegations made by onchain investigator ZachXBT, who offered a $25,000 bounty for whistleblowers. RaveDAO released a statement denying involvement in the recent price action, but the collapse accelerated after the denial. The project's statement failed to address specific onchain allegations, including the concentration of 90% of the RAVE supply in three Gnosis Safe multi-signature wallets and token transfers to exchanges before the price rally. 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 prices rose, forcing shorts to cover at unfavorable levels. RaveDAO, a Web3 entertainment platform, reported $3 million in revenue in 2025 and has partnerships with major exchanges and Polygon. The project plans to liquidate unlocked tokens to fund operations and marketing, exploring lockup mechanisms that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth, but did not commit to a specific timeline or mechanism.