RaveDAO token crashes below $1 after ZachXBT exposes price manipulation
RaveDAO token plunged 95% from $26 to under $1.
RAVE launched in December 2025 on Binance Alpha.
ZachXBT’s on-chain analysis also highlights MemeCore, River and MYX among questionable projects.
RaveDAO (RAVE) has plunged below $1, erasing more than 95% of its earlier rally to an all-time high of $26.
The sharp decline follows an investigation by blockchain analyst ZachXBT, which alleged clear signs of price manipulation.
The findings have raised broader concerns about potential insider-driven schemes affecting multiple tokens listed on centralised exchanges, contributing to selling pressure across the segment.
RaveDAO token dumps amid ZachXBT’s explosive allegations
ZachXBT, a pseudonymous investigator celebrated for dismantling multimillion-dollar crypto frauds, took to X on April 18, 2026, to dissect RAVE’s suspicious trajectory.
He pinpointed concentrated wallet activity controlling the token’s liquidity, engineering artificial pumps to trap retail buyers before orchestrated dumps.
“RAVE launched in Dec 2025 on Binance Alpha with a 1B total supply. The addresses below, linked to the initial distribution, control ~95% of the RAVE supply,” the on-chain sleuth posted.
Labelling it a textbook “pump-and-dump,” ZachXBT offered a $25,000 bounty for transaction proofs, urging platforms like Binance, Bitget, and Gate.io to launch probes.
He notes that the exchanges acknowledged his call, a move that could mirror past successes in securing refunds and bans.
Yet ZachXBT questioned why CEXs have waited for his call to acknowledge potential manipulation.
“While it’s good the exchanges responded, I find it unlikely this activity wasn’t spotted internally before I raised it publicly.”
RAVE’s price carnage unfolded mercilessly, plummeting from $26 to under $1 within 24 hours, with trading volume surging amid mass liquidations.
Billions of dollars in market cap vaporised, leaving holders stunned. The declines saw the token’s value drop to lows of $0.50, where it hovered as of writing on April 20, 2026.
Update: Three hours ago multisig 0x53d7 linked to the RAVE initial distribution which I flagged above sent ~23M RAVE ($23M) to two Bitget deposit addresses and the price dropped 40% from $1 to $0.6.
Deposit addresses0x26aC542f5a04D574580881723224DAcD1EDB9B45… pic.twitter.com/Qi1asiFWsB
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 19, 2026
ZachXBT also hits other tokens
The potential price manipulation extends to similar tokens.
“RAVE is not the only token with manipulation we have seen on major centralized exchanges,” he posted.
“It’s just the most blatant, reaching a top 15 market cap within 10 days before dropping 95% in hours. Other projects with highly questionable price action recently include: SIREN, MYX, COAI, M, PIPPIN, RIVER.”
According to ZachXBT, all projects have exhibited “highly questionable price action” and supply dominance by the team.
MemeCore, RIVER and PIPPIN prices echoed the Rave token bleed, dumping double digits to erase recent gains.
Some retail traders commented on ZachXBT’s post, noting this could be an opportunity to short. His response:
I do not recommend shorting manipulated tokens with a high insider concentration.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 20, 2026
Data on CoinMarketCap showed M, River and Siren were down 7-9% in the past 24 hours as of writing.
