Binance and Bitget, two main cryptocurrency exchanges, have opened investigations into buying and selling exercise surrounding RaveDAO’s RAVE token, after onchain sleuth ZachXBT alleged insiders engineered a big quick squeeze that drove the token’s speedy rise.
Crypto change Bitget’s CEO Gracy Chen stated the change had “started investigating” the matter, whereas Binance CEO Richard Teng later stated publicly that the platform was additionally wanting into the claims and would “always” do its half to look at indicators of market misconduct. One other change, Gate, was additionally talked about in ZachXBT’s investigation.
ZachXBT has additionally personally supplied a $10,000 bounty to whistleblowers who come ahead privately to share proof in regards to the events concerned.
The little-known undertaking rallied earlier within the week, resulting in over $44 million in RAVE positions, most of which have been bearish, getting liquidated in a single day. These liquidations adopted a 4,500% rally over the course of every week.
Nonetheless, the quick squeeze highlighted the focus of RAVE tokens inside a small set of wallets. In reality, almost 90% of its provide was in simply three Gnosis Secure wallets on the time.
Investigators additionally flagged token transfers to exchanges shortly earlier than the rally started. Tens of millions of tokens have been moved to exchanges earlier than costs began surging.
RaveDAO presents itself as a Web3 undertaking centered on digital music occasions, providing blockchain-based ticketing and group governance. It traces its origins to a 2023 afterparty in Istanbul and has since hosted occasions throughout a number of areas. The undertaking reported about $3 million in income in 2025.
That footprint contrasts with the token’s market habits. RAVE traded under $0.50 for many of its historical past earlier than surging in April. It jumped from about $0.30 to over $6 in a single day, then climbed previous $27 earlier than beginning to recede.
At its peak, the token’s market worth briefly exceeded $6 billion, inserting it among the many largest cryptocurrencies by market cap earlier than dropping. The token is now down greater than 50% from its peak and 30% during the last 24 hours.
‘Bait and liquidate’
A separate declare facilities on what some describe as a “bait and liquidate” sample. The thought is that seen transfers counsel promoting strain, drawing merchants into quick positions.
If these tokens are later withdrawn whereas costs rise, quick sellers could also be pressured to purchase again at larger costs, driving additional positive factors for these on the opposite facet of the commerce. These claims stay unproven, however the focus of provide suggests it’s an actual risk.
Group reviews have additionally linked the undertaking to figures related to earlier crypto ventures, together with ARPA and Bella Protocol, although these connections haven’t been independently verified. Not one of the people named in these reviews has responded publicly.
RaveDAO addressed the state of affairs in a social media thread, stating that the staff is “not engaged in, nor responsible for, recent price action.”
Within the thread, RaveDAO didn’t deal with particular onchain allegations, together with provide focus or the hundreds of thousands transferred to exchanges forward of the pump, however confirmed it does plan to liquidate parts of unlocked tokens “when appropriate.”
RaveDAO stated it was “exploring appropriate models, including price-triggered or performance-triggered locks, that tie team incentives to ecosystem growth.” It stopped wanting committing to any particular mechanism or timeline.
CoinDesk has reached out to RaveDAO for feedback.
