Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token. This move comes after on-chain analyst ZachXBT alleged that insiders manipulated the market, resulting in a significant short squeeze that drove the token's price up rapidly. 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 looking into the claims and will always examine 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 RAVE token's price surged by 4,500% over the course of a week, resulting in over $44 million in liquidations, mostly from bearish positions. Notably, nearly 90% of the token's supply was held in just three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time, and millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges shortly before the price began to rise. RaveDAO, which describes itself as a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, has hosted several events and reported $3 million in revenue in 2025.
However, the token's market behavior has raised eyebrows, with its price jumping from $0.30 to over $6 in a single day before receding. At its peak, the token's market value briefly exceeded $6 billion, making it one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
The token has since dropped by over 50% from its peak and 30% in the last 24 hours. Some have alleged a 'bait and liquidate' pattern, where visible transfers suggest selling pressure, drawing traders into short positions, only to withdraw the tokens later and force short sellers to buy back at higher prices. RaveDAO has denied any involvement in the recent price action, stating that it is not responsible for the token's price surge.
The project has also announced plans to liquidate portions of unlocked tokens 'when appropriate' and is exploring models that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth. However, RaveDAO has not addressed specific on-chain allegations, including the concentration of supply and the large token transfers to exchanges ahead of the price surge.