Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token, following allegations by on-chain analyst ZachXBT that insiders manipulated the market to drive the token's rapid appreciation. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen confirmed the exchange is 'investigating' the matter, while Binance CEO Richard Teng stated that the platform is 'always' committed to examining signs of market misconduct. ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to come forward with evidence about the parties involved.
The little-known project saw a significant rally, resulting in over $44 million in RAVE positions being liquidated in a single day, with nearly 90% of its supply concentrated in just three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time. Investigators also flagged large-scale token transfers to exchanges shortly before the rally began, with millions of tokens being moved to exchanges before prices started surging.
RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, has reported $3 million in revenue in 2025, but its token's market behavior has raised concerns, with some describing a 'bait and liquidate' pattern. The project has addressed the situation, stating that it is 'not engaged in, nor responsible for, recent price action,' but has not addressed specific on-chain allegations.
RaveDAO has confirmed plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens 'when appropriate' and is exploring models that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth.