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 orchestrated a large short squeeze, resulting in the token's rapid price increase. Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, confirmed the exchange has started investigating the matter, while Binance's CEO, Richard Teng, announced that the platform is also examining the claims and will take action to address any 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 little-known project experienced a significant rally, resulting in over $44 million in bearish RAVE positions being liquidated in a single day, following a 4,500% price surge over the course of a week. However, the short squeeze highlighted the concentration of RAVE tokens within a small set of wallets, with nearly 90% of the supply held in just three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time. Investigators also flagged large token transfers to exchanges shortly before the price surge began, with millions of tokens being moved to exchanges before the price increase. RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, offering blockchain-based ticketing and community governance, reported $3 million in revenue in 2025.
The project's token, RAVE, traded below $0.50 for most of its history before surging in April, jumping from $0.30 to over $6 in a single day and eventually climbing past $27 before receding. At its peak, the token's market value briefly exceeded $6 billion, placing it among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization before dropping. The token has since declined by over 50% from its peak and 30% in the last 24 hours. A separate claim suggests a 'bait and liquidate' pattern, where visible transfers create the illusion of selling pressure, drawing traders into short positions, only to have those tokens withdrawn later, forcing short sellers to buy back at higher prices and driving further gains for those on the other side of the trade.
While these claims remain unproven, the concentration of supply suggests it is a plausible scenario. Community reports have linked the project to individuals associated with earlier crypto ventures, although these connections have not been independently verified. RaveDAO has addressed the situation, stating that the team is not responsible for the recent price action, but did not address specific on-chain allegations, including supply concentration or the large transfers to exchanges ahead of the price surge. The project confirmed plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens 'when appropriate' and is exploring models that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth.