Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding RaveDAO's RAVE token. This move follows allegations by on-chain analyst ZachXBT that insiders manipulated the market, resulting in a significant short squeeze that drove the token's price up rapidly. The claims suggest that nearly 90% of RAVE's supply was held in just three wallets, and millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges before the price surge began. The token's price skyrocketed by 4,500% over a week, leading to the liquidation of over $44 million in bearish positions.
In response to the allegations, ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to come forward with evidence. The investigation highlights the concentration of RAVE tokens and the transfers to exchanges that occurred before the price surge.
RaveDAO, a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, has stated that it is not responsible for the recent price action and plans to explore models that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth.