Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitget have initiated investigations into the recent trading activity surrounding the RAVE token, following allegations by on-chain analyst ZachXBT that insiders manipulated the market, resulting in a massive short squeeze. The token's value skyrocketed by 4,500% in a week, leading to the liquidation of over $44 million in bearish positions. Notably, nearly 90% of the token's supply was concentrated in just three Gnosis Safe wallets, and millions of tokens were transferred to exchanges before the price surge.
ZachXBT has offered a $10,000 bounty for whistleblowers to come forward with evidence. RaveDAO, the project behind the token, claims to be a Web3 platform focused on electronic music events and has reported $3 million in revenue in 2025. However, the token's market behavior has raised suspicions, with some alleging a 'bait and liquidate' pattern.
RaveDAO has denied any involvement in the recent price action but announced plans to liquidate unlocked tokens and explore incentive models tied to ecosystem growth.