Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token. This move comes after on-chain analyst ZachXBT alleged that insiders manipulated the market, leading to a significant short squeeze that drove the token's rapid appreciation. Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, confirmed the investigation, while Binance's CEO, Richard Teng, stated that the platform would examine signs of market misconduct. Another exchange, Gate, was also implicated in ZachXBT's findings.
ZachXBT is offering a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to come forward with evidence. The little-known project experienced a massive rally, resulting in over $44 million in liquidated RAVE positions, primarily bearish, in a single day.
This followed a 4,500% increase over a week. Notably, nearly 90% of RAVE tokens were concentrated in three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time, and millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges shortly before the price surge. RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events with blockchain-based ticketing and community governance, reported $3 million in revenue in 2025. However, the token's market behavior has been erratic, surging from $0.30 to over $6 in a day and reaching a market value of $6 billion before receding.
The token has since dropped over 50% from its peak and 30% in the last 24 hours. Claims of a 'bait and liquidate' pattern have also emerged, suggesting that visible transfers may be used to lure traders into short positions, only to withdraw tokens and drive prices up, forcing short sellers to buy back at higher prices. While these claims are unproven, the concentration of supply supports this possibility. RaveDAO has addressed the situation, stating that the team is not responsible for the recent price action and plans to liquidate 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.