Following allegations of insider-orchestrated market manipulation, leading cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token. The probe comes after on-chain analyst ZachXBT claimed that insiders had engineered a significant short squeeze, resulting in the token's rapid price increase. Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, confirmed the investigation, while Binance's CEO, Richard Teng, stated that the platform would examine signs of market misconduct. ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to come forward with evidence about the parties involved.
The token's price surge led to over $44 million in liquidations, with nearly 90% of its supply concentrated in three Gnosis Safe wallets. Millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges before the rally began, raising suspicions of manipulation.
RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, has denied any involvement in the recent price action, stating that it plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens when appropriate and is exploring incentive models tied to ecosystem growth.