RAVE surged 20x within 3 days, and on-chain analysts accuse market makers of liquidating short sellers

According to on-chain analyst Yujin’s monitoring, the RAVE token rapidly surged from $0.3 to $6.2 over the past 3 days, representing a gain of up to 20x. However, behind this shocking surge, on-chain data reveals a highly suspicious market-manipulation pattern: a “whale” address allegedly first transferred a large amount of RAVE tokens to exchanges to lure shorts into entering, and then re-boosted the spot price, using the forced liquidation of contract shorts to complete the “harvest.”

Breakdown of the trading tactics: a two-step liquidation strategy that dumps first, then pumps

(Source: Arkham)

Yujin’s on-chain analysis reconstructs the complete sequence of actions of this suspected manipulation, showing a typical closed-loop method of “first manufacturing a short-selling environment, then forcibly pumping to liquidate”:

Two core steps of the suspected whale’s operation

Step 1 (attracting shorts to open positions): In the past 3 days, the suspected whale address transferred 30.58 million RAVE (about $42 million) to centralized exchanges (CEX). The large inflow of tokens to exchanges creates signals of increased supply, attracting shorts to aggressively establish short positions

Step 2 (withdrawing to pump and liquidate the shorts): In the following 2 days, similar addresses withdrew 31.94 million RAVE from CEX back to the on-chain, while simultaneously significantly pumping the spot price on CEX, triggering large-scale forced liquidations of shorts to realize the “harvest”

In total, the token transfer volumes are nearly fully hedged before and after. However, the intense price volatility created in the middle could cause shorts to suffer severe losses, while the manipulator completes arbitrage using the funds liquidated from contract shorts.

On-chain tracking: changes in holdings of the whale “enai.bnb”

On April 12, on-chain analyst Ai Yi disclosed another whale move worth paying attention to. After RAVE went live, the wallet address “enai.bnb” bought 46,336.76 RAVE at an average price of $0.4556 on the second day, held them for 48 days, and when the token price was $0.39 (below the purchase cost), it transferred all the tokens to the Aster platform; the purpose is unclear.

After the rapid surge in RAVE in this round, this whale also transferred 41,025 tokens out of Aster. It is now ranked among the top nine in terms of RAVE holdings on the BSC network. It is worth noting that if it had not transferred out at the low of $0.39 back then and had held until now, the return rate would have been as high as 462%, with unrealized profit of approximately $86,000. The timeline—transferring out to Aster at a low price, then transferring out again from Aster at a high price—has sparked widespread doubt in the community.

High-risk warning: identifying and preventing a whale-driven行情

This kind of manipulation tactic—“first manufacturing short-selling liquidity, then pumping to liquidate”—is not uncommon in the Meme coin market, but it is extremely dangerous for ordinary traders who don’t understand the overall manipulation playbook: if you see a big spot rally and follow by going long, it might be exactly the window when the whale is reducing holdings and distributing; if you see large amounts of tokens flowing into exchanges and then follow by going short, you could also be forcibly liquidated by a subsequent pump.

RAVE currently has a relatively small market cap, meaning that large capital can easily influence its price, making it a “highly tradable/manipulable asset.” In the absence of clear fundamental support, any directional trades come with extremely high risk.

Common questions

What drove RAVE’s 20x surge in 3 days?

According to on-chain analyst Yujin’s monitoring, this round of gains is highly likely driven by trading/manipulation actions led by a “whale” address, rather than fundamental factors. The operation is suspected to be: first transferring a large amount of tokens to CEX to attract shorts, then withdrawing the tokens and pumping the spot, completing arbitrage through the forced liquidation of contract shorts.

How does the whale’s “dump first, then pump” manipulation method work?

Step one is to move large quantities of tokens into CEX, creating market signals of increased supply to attract shorts to build positions. Step two is to withdraw the tokens from CEX and forcibly pump the spot price, triggering large-scale forced liquidations of shorts, and using liquidation capital to complete the arbitrage “harvest.”

How can ordinary investors identify this kind of manipulation行情?

Key signals include: within a short period, large-scale on-chain-to-CEX token transfers appear (possibly to manufacture short-selling liquidity), and then afterwards, large-scale CEX-to-on-chain token withdrawals occur (possibly in preparation for a pump). On tokens with smaller market caps and no fundamental support, any directional bets face extremely high liquidation risk—so extreme caution is advised.