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 orchestrated a significant short squeeze, leading to the token's rapid price increase.
Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, confirmed that the exchange is investigating the matter, while Binance CEO Richard Teng stated that the platform will examine signs of market misconduct. Another exchange, Gate, was also implicated in ZachXBT's investigation. ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty to whistleblowers who can provide evidence about the parties involved. The project, which focuses on Web3 electronic music events and offers blockchain-based ticketing and community governance, saw its token price surge by 4,500% in a week, resulting in over $44 million in RAVE positions being liquidated in a single day.
However, the short squeeze highlighted the concentration of RAVE tokens within a small set of wallets, with nearly 90% of its supply held in just three Gnosis Safe wallets. Investigators also flagged token transfers to exchanges shortly before the rally began, with millions of tokens being moved to exchanges before prices started surging. RaveDAO has stated that it is not responsible for the recent price action and plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens when appropriate, but did not address specific on-chain allegations.