One of crypto’s most trusted on-chain investigators just called out a textbook pump and dump, and this time, major exchanges are named.
ZachXBT posted publicly that pump and dump activity for RAVE token originated on Bitget, Binance and Gate, with insiders controlling over 90% of supply. He called on Binance co-founder He Yi and Bitget CEO Gracy Chen to launch internal investigations and offboard the responsible actors.
He offered a $10,000 personal bounty for whistleblowers. Chen responded soon: “Thanks for highlighting! We’ve started investigating into $RAVE.”
How the Manipulation Worked
The setup was deliberate. Wallets linked to the RaveDAO deployer transferred 18.58 million RAVE tokens to Bitget before the pump began – with no announcement and no disclosure. The price was still below $0.50.
Ten hours later, the rally started.
With 74% of traders on Binance holding short positions, insiders then withdrew 29.78 million tokens from Bitget – draining exchange selling pressure entirely. The resulting short squeeze sent RAVE from $0.27 to over $14 in seven days, a gain of more than 5,500%.
ZachXBT had previously reached out to RaveDAO’s co-founder before posting publicly. He was left on read.
The Red Flags Were There
Intergovernmental Blockchain Advisor Anndy Lian flagged the warning signs clearly. The top 10 wallets hold 98.16% of total supply. Only 24-25% of the one billion token supply is in circulation. The fully diluted valuation sits at roughly four times the current market cap – a ratio that historically precedes 40-60% retracements. There is no public codebase and no completed security audit.
The project’s backer list is striking: World Liberty Financial, Warner Music Group, Tomorrowland, and YZi Labs – a Web3 incubator with former Binance staff. None of that changes what the on-chain data shows.
“We cannot allow this blatant market manipulation by insiders controlling more than 90% RAVE support to further extract from retail investors,” ZachXBT wrote.
Bitget has confirmed its investigation is underway. Binance and Gate have not yet responded publicly.
Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.
Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.
