Following allegations of a manipulated price rally, major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated an investigation into the trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token. The claims, made by on-chain analyst ZachXBT, suggest that insiders orchestrated a large short squeeze, resulting in the token's rapid price increase. Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, confirmed that the exchange has started investigating the matter, while Binance's CEO, Richard Teng, stated that the platform is also examining the claims and will take action if signs of market misconduct are found.
Another exchange, Gate, was also implicated in ZachXBT's investigation. A $10,000 bounty has been offered to whistleblowers who can provide evidence about the parties involved. The RAVE token's price surge led to over $44 million in liquidations, with nearly 90% of its supply concentrated in just three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time. Millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges before the price rally began.
RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, has reported $3 million in revenue in 2025. However, the token's market behavior has raised concerns, with some claiming a 'bait and liquidate' pattern.
The project has denied any involvement in the recent price action, stating that it plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens when appropriate and is exploring models to tie team incentives to ecosystem growth.