Binance co-CEO Richard Teng confirmed the exchange had opened an investigation into trading activity. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the same. Gate.io was also named in connection with the original allegations.
Rather than calming markets, the announcements deepened the sell-off. Investors read the probes as confirmation that something had gone wrong, and selling accelerated.
ZachXBT’s analysis focused on token distribution. According to his findings, nine wallets connected to the project’s early distribution phase held close to 95% of the total supply.
That concentration, he argued, gave a small number of insiders the ability to move prices at will. Large transfers to exchanges were also recorded before the rally began — a pattern often associated with coordinated offloading once retail demand peaks.
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.
RaveDAO pushed back. The team issued a public statement saying it had no role in the recent price movement. Officials said token unlocks were sold to cover operating costs, which they described as standard practice. The statement did not address ZachXBT’s specific wallet claims.
Analysts Watch Key Price Levels For Signs Of StabilityWith the dust still settling, some analysts pointed to the $1.00 to $1.20 range as a potential floor. A sustained hold above that zone could signal that the worst of the selling is over.
A move past $1.50 might indicate that forced sellers have largely exited. But the sheer volume of supply sitting above current prices makes any quick recovery difficult.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView
