RAVE plunges as probe opens into Rave DAO

RAVE ended its unstoppable rally after an investigation was mounted to check for dishonest trading practices. The Rave DAO team claimed they had no intentions of causing the record pump. 

RAVE tokens ended their record rally, which took the price as high as $27.73 as of April 17. In the past day, RAVE crashed by over 66%, and in total, wiped out 90% of its market capitalization in the past week.

As Cryptopolitan reported, the RAVE crash was expected, given the unrealistic valuation that crossed $10B within days. 

The RAVE rally was considered unsustainable, eventually ending overnight and sending the token to $0.55. RAVE is yet to return to its previous baseline trading at around $0.30. However, the token may have lost more of its reputation after allegations of insider trading. 

ZachXBT called for a RAVE investigation

On-chain investigator ZachXBT was the main trigger for the price crash. He called for an investigation based on suspicious trading patterns, aiming to claim a $10,000 bounty for discovering unfair trading practices. As a result, Binance, Bitget, and Gate started an investigation into RAVE trading and the cause of the massive pump. ZachXBT also announced his own whistleblower bounty of $25,000. 

The crypto sleuth previously contacted Rave DAO, pointing out the highly concentrated ownership of RAVE tokens. 

A summary of the RAVE -95% price fluctuation from $26 to $1 over the past 24 hours.

RAVE Timeline: April 18, 2026

7:26 am UTC: I posted a call to action for Binance, Bitget, & Gate to investigate RAVE market manipulation and offered a $10K bounty.

10:56 am UTC: I posted an… pic.twitter.com/mivKcdyBrw

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 19, 2026

As exchanges reacted to ZachXBT’s call, the Rave DAO team moved in to disclaim any intentional price manipulation. The project still claimed it had long-term intentions and had just recently started recruiting influencers and growing its mindshare. 

The team has warned that it intends to liquidate some of the tokens based on its roadmap. ZachXBT noted some of the recent selling action was connected to team wallets, meaning the sellers made use of the over-inflated RAVE price. 

The selling did not stop even as RAVE lost over 90% of its value. ZachXBT intercepted more transactions coming from team wallets making Bitget deposits, as RAVE sank from $1 to $0.60. 

RAVE performed in a way similar to other token pumps, such as SIREN. According to ZachXBT, exchanges may need stronger protections against volatile assets, where market makers can create unrealistic price action.

What will happen to the Rave DAO project?

In the past, tokens have managed to perform multiple pumps similar to that of RAVE. However, the assets were rarely investigated in detail, and traders expected the eventual crash.

In the case of RAVE, the project increased its mindshare to 0.3%, a significant feat for the token. This also means the Rave DAO story will be taken as a cautionary tale. The token will now be traded with a much more cautious sentiment. 

The other option is that RAVE may still cause short squeezes. The potential for the team to sell more RAVE may lead to opening short positions again. RAVE remains risky, causing around $15.4M in liquidations in the past 24 hours. In total, $8.94M in long positions were liquidated from traders betting on a recovery, while another $6.51M in short positions were liquidated due to short-term volatility. 

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.