The token RAVE, associated with the entertainment collective RaveDAO, lost over $6.6 billion in market value after blockchain investigator ZachXBT called for exchanges to probe potential price manipulation. The token’s value collapsed nearly 98% to around $150 million following the public request. Executives from Bitget, Binance, and Gate stated they would investigate the suspicious trading activity, which included $24 million in tokens transferred to Bitget from team-linked wallets over the weekend.
RaveDAO’s RAVE token plummeted over the weekend after prominent investigator ZachXBT called on exchanges Binance, Bitget, and Gate to investigate potential market manipulation. The token’s market capitalization plunged more than $6.6 billion, collapsing nearly 98% to approximately $150 million according to CoinGecko.
RAVE had risen to become one of crypto’s most valuable tokens in less than two weeks before the sudden crash. The token, which debuted in December, can be used to establish local chapters, purchase tickets, and participate in NFT releases.
In response to the allegations, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated, “thanks for highlighting! We’ve started investigating into $RAVE.” Binance CEO Richard Teng and Gate Chief Business Officer Kevin Lee also indicated their firms were looking into the token’s performance.
ZachXBT said he found suspicious activity tied to addresses linked to RaveDAO’s team this month, particularly on Bitget. He noted that initial distribution tokens controlled around 95% of RAVE’s supply, pointing to a potentially manipulated valuation.
As the token fell, RaveDAO claimed it “is not engaged in, nor responsible for, recent price action.” However, data from Arkham Intelligence showed wallets linked to RaveDAO’s team sent $24 million in RAVE tokens to Bitget on Sunday. The token traded around $0.56 on Monday, down from an all-time high of $27.33 on Saturday.
The token’s decline coincided with $52 million in liquidated positions during a 24-hour period. RaveDAO had previously announced a partnership to use the USD1 stablecoin backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his sons for ticketing in South Korea.
