RAVE Token Plummets 90% in 24 Hours Amid Exchange Investigations

A staggering $5.7 billion in market capitalization vanished within 48 hours, triggered by a 90% collapse of RaveDAO's RAVE token following investigations launched by crypto exchanges Binance and Bitget into unusual trading patterns. The token's price plummeted after the exchanges initiated probes, despite RaveDAO's denial of any wrongdoing. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen and Binance co-CEO Richard Teng both confirmed the investigations, with the latter stating that the exchange would examine signs of market misconduct. Gate.io was also implicated in the allegations made by onchain investigator ZachXBT, who is offering a $25,000 bounty for information on the parties involved. RaveDAO posted a statement on X, claiming the team was not responsible for the recent price volatility, but failed to address specific allegations, including the concentration of 90% of the token supply in three Gnosis Safe wallets and the transfer of millions of tokens to exchanges before the price surge. The token's rally, which saw its price jump from $0.25 to $27.33 in nine days, triggered $44 million in liquidations, mostly from short sellers. Investigators identified a 'bait and liquidate' pattern, where token transfers to exchanges suggested sell pressure, luring traders into short positions before the tokens were withdrawn and prices rose, forcing shorts to cover at unfavorable levels.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 stated its intention to liquidate unlocked tokens to fund operations and marketing, but did not commit to a specific lockup mechanism or timeline.