RAVE token's explosive 224% surge to a record $9.79 has triggered widespread manipulation warnings from market observers, following a massive short squeeze on Binance that liquidated bearish positions. The token, which traded around $0.25 for months, rocketed over 800% in three weeks without clear fundamental catalysts, revealing dangerous volatility in the current bear market. Trading data shows most liquidated shorts were opened within the past week, raising questions about coordinated price action as RAVE continues its unprecedented rally.

RAVE caused $37.63M in short liquidations in the past day, sparking discontent among the crypto community. 

RAVE open interest increased suddenly

RAVE trading is mostly concentrated on GATE and other centralized exchanges. At the same time, futures on Binance suddenly increased their open interest. 

The increased futures bets started from April 6, showing the current short squeeze was almost a week in preparation. 

According to the liquidation heatmap, the rally above $9 wiped out all short positions. After that, the price started to retreat, down to $8.67. The rapid price action and sudden peak volumes have led to suggestions of manipulation. 

Unlike other tokens, the RAVE short open interest appeared suddenly. Open interest increased by 76% in the past day, with the bulk of positions on Binance and OKX. 

According to analysts, the open interest on Binance and BingX had the most suspicious growth and was probably not organic. Recent data suggests up to 50% of open interest may be manipulated. 

RAVE has not attracted shorting from retail traders, who have seen other tokens cause short squeezes. Instead, RAVE traders reportedly built up long positions to entice whales and professional traders to attempt shorting RAVE.

In the end, the operation succeeded, and RAVE posted price records for three days, squeezing out short traders. 

RAVE is controlled by the team

One of the major risks for RAVE is the highly controlled supply. The top 10 wallets hold 98.16% of all tokens. Any retail holders control just 1.83% of the supply, corresponding with the generally low interest in new assets. 

The top RAVE wallet holds over 42% of all tokens, and the second-biggest, another 23%. The presence of large whales also makes the token suspicious for manipulation at scale. The sudden price rally may allow some of the holders to cash out quickly, avoiding the worst of a bear market. 

RAVE was popular on social media, though reception was muted due to the bear market. The project’s mindshare actually fell by over 14% just before the rally, which may have turned out to be a rug pull between whales and professional traders. 

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