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, resulting in a substantial short squeeze. The token's price skyrocketed by 4,500% in a week, leading to the liquidation of over $44 million in bearish positions. Notably, nearly 90% of RAVE's supply was held in just three Gnosis Safe wallets, and millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges before the price surge began. RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events and blockchain-based ticketing, has denied any involvement in the price manipulation, stating that the team is not responsible for the recent price action.
The project has announced plans to explore locking mechanisms that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth, but has not committed to a specific timeline or mechanism. Meanwhile, ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to come forward with evidence about the parties involved in the alleged insider trading.