RAVE Token Plunges 90% in 24 Hours Amid Exchange Investigations

A staggering $5.7 billion in market capitalization vanished within 48 hours, sparked by a 90% collapse of RaveDAO's RAVE token over 24 hours, following investigations launched by crypto exchanges Binance and Bitget into unusual trading patterns that had propelled the token to a $6 billion market cap the previous week. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen and Binance co-CEO Richard Teng confirmed the investigations, with Teng stating that the exchange would examine signs of market misconduct. The collapse accelerated despite RaveDAO's denial of any wrongdoing on Saturday. In a six-part X thread, the project 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 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 impending sell pressure, luring traders into short positions before prices skyrocketed. RaveDAO, a Web3 entertainment platform, reported $3 million in revenue in 2025 and has partnerships with major exchanges and Polygon. The project confirmed plans to liquidate portions of 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.