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

Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token. This comes after on-chain analyst ZachXBT alleged that insiders orchestrated a large short squeeze, resulting in 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 will examine signs of market misconduct. ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to share evidence about the parties involved. The RAVE token experienced a 4,500% surge over a week, leading to over $44 million in positions being liquidated in a single day. Nearly 90% of the token's supply was concentrated in three Gnosis Safe wallets, and millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges before the price surge. RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, has reported $3 million in revenue in 2025. The project's token traded below $0.50 for most of its history before surging in April, reaching a peak market value of over $6 billion. The token has since dropped by over 50% from its peak and 30% in the last 24 hours. Allegations of a 'bait and liquidate' pattern have also emerged, suggesting that visible transfers may be used to lure traders into short positions. 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.