RaveDAO Denies Pump-and-Dump Allegations as RAVE Token Crashes 95%

RaveDAO has denied any role in the recent surge and sharp collapse of its RAVE token, as major crypto exchanges open probes into trading activity following allegations of market manipulation. In a thread posted on X, the project said it was "not engaged in, nor responsible for, recent price action," responding to mounting scrutiny after RAVE soared from roughly $0.25 to nearly $28 within days before plunging more than 80%. The denial comes as onchain investigator ZachXBT accused the project of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme, pointing to concentrated token holdings and suspicious exchange flows. He claimed that more than 90% of the token supply may be controlled by insiders, calling on exchanges to take action. Both Binance and Bitget confirmed they are reviewing the situation. "We're looking into it," Binance CEO Richard Teng wrote, while Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the exchange had "started investigating" RAVE trading activity. RaveDAO also outlined plans to sell portions of unlocked tokens to fund operations, marketing and hiring. The team said it is exploring "price-triggered or performance-triggered locks" to better align incentives. "Building a movement requires resources," the project wrote, adding it aims to do so "sustainably and transparently." RaveDAO is a Web3-based entertainment project that combines electronic music events with blockchain technology, aiming to onboard users into crypto through real-world experiences like festivals and parties. It operates as a decentralized community where attendees receive NFTs for participation, while its RAVE token is used for governance, ticketing and access to events. At the time of writing, RAVE is trading at $1.36, down by 94.95% over the past day, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, more than a dozen DeFi protocols and crypto firms have been hit by exploits in just over two weeks, starting with the massive $280 million Drift Protocol attack on April 1. Other affected projects include CoW Swap, Hyperbridge, Bybit, Silo Finance, Aethir and Rhea Finance, along with exchanges and liquidity pools across multiple chains. The attacks range from smart contract bugs and oracle manipulation to access control failures and liquidity pool exploits.