Binance and Biget to probe RAVE’s 4,500% token surge as claims of insider-orchestrated rally grow

Binance and Bitget, two major cryptocurrency exchanges, have opened investigations into trading activity surrounding RaveDAO’s RAVE token, after onchain sleuth ZachXBT alleged insiders engineered a large short squeeze that drove the token’s rapid rise.

Crypto exchange Bitget's CEO Gracy Chen said the exchange had “started investigating” the matter, while Binance CEO Richard Teng later said publicly that the platform was also looking into the claims and would “always” do its part to examine signs of market misconduct. Another exchange, Gate, was also mentioned in ZachXBT’s investigation.

ZachXBT has also personally offered a $10,000 bounty to whistleblowers who come forward privately to share evidence about the parties involved.

The little-known project rallied earlier in the week, leading to over $44 million in RAVE positions, most of which were bearish, getting liquidated in a single day. Those liquidations followed a 4,500% rally over the course of a week.

Still, the short squeeze highlighted the concentration of RAVE tokens within a small set of wallets. In fact, nearly 90% of its supply was in just three Gnosis Safe wallets at the time.

Investigators also flagged token transfers to exchanges shortly before the rally began. Millions of tokens were moved to exchanges before prices started surging.

RaveDAO token performance (CoinDesk)

RaveDAO presents itself as a Web3 project focused on electronic music events, offering blockchain-based ticketing and community governance. It traces its origins to a 2023 afterparty in Istanbul and has since hosted events across several regions. The project reported about $3 million in revenue in 2025.

That footprint contrasts with the token’s market behavior. RAVE traded below $0.50 for most of its history before surging in April. It jumped from about $0.30 to over $6 in a single day, then climbed past $27 before starting to recede.