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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.

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:

Data on CoinMarketCap showed M, River and Siren were down 7-9% in the past 24 hours as of writing.

The post RaveDAO token crashes below $1 after ZachXBT exposes price manipulation appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Circle Internet Group faces class action over failure to stop Drift Protocol exploit funds

  • Circle is accused of failing to freeze exploit-linked transfers.
  • Approximately $230 million in stolen funds was routed through Circle’s USDC.
  • Drift plans $147.5 million recovery backed by future revenue.

Circle Internet Group, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is facing a class action lawsuit over its alleged failure to stop the movement of stolen funds linked to the Drift Protocol exploit.

The lawsuit, filed by Drift investor Joshua McCollum at the US district court in Massachusetts on behalf of over 100 impacted users, centres on whether the company had both the ability and the obligation to intervene as the exploit unfolded.

Lawsuit targets Circle’s role in fund transfers

The legal action stems from the April 2026 breach of Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralised exchange, where attackers drained roughly $285 million.

A significant portion of those funds, estimated at around $230 million, was quickly converted into USDC.

From there, the funds were moved across chains, primarily from Solana to Ethereum, using cross-chain infrastructure.

The transfers were not instantaneous. They occurred over several hours and were split into more than 100 transactions.

This detail sits at the centre of the lawsuit.

Plaintiffs argue that Circle had a window of opportunity to act.

According to the claim, the company could have frozen the affected wallets or halted the transfers, limiting the damage. Instead, the funds continued moving until they were fully out of reach.

The case accuses Circle of negligence and of indirectly facilitating the loss by failing to act despite having the technical capability to do so.

This argument is reinforced by previous instances where the company has frozen wallets tied to illicit activity, showing that such intervention is not only possible but already part of its operational toolkit.

At its core, the lawsuit raises a difficult question: when a centralised entity operates within a decentralised system, where does its responsibility begin and end?

Drift’s recovery plan

In response to the exploit, Drift Protocol has outlined a structured recovery plan aimed at addressing user losses while rebuilding the platform’s liquidity and operations.

The protocol is seeking to mobilise up to $147.5 million, with a significant portion backed by Tether and other ecosystem partners.

This figure, however, should not be viewed as immediate compensation.

A large share of the funding comes in the form of a revenue-linked credit facility estimated at around $100 million.

This means the protocol will draw funds over time and repay them using future trading fees and platform revenue rather than distributing the full amount upfront.

To manage user claims, Drift plans to issue a new recovery token, though its official name and final structure are yet to be confirmed.

This token will be distributed to affected users and will represent their share of the recovery pool.

It is expected to be transferable, allowing users to either hold it and wait for gradual repayments or sell it on secondary markets for immediate liquidity, likely at a discount.

The recovery pool itself will not rely solely on external funding.

It is designed to be continuously replenished through multiple sources, including protocol revenue, partner contributions, and any funds that may be recovered from the attackers.

This creates a system where repayments are tied directly to the platform’s ability to restart operations and generate consistent trading activity.

Despite these measures, there remains a clear shortfall.

With total losses estimated at approximately $285 million and recovery efforts targeting up to $150 million, a large portion of user funds is not immediately covered.

This gap highlights that users are unlikely to be fully reimbursed in the near term, and recovery will depend heavily on Drift’s long-term performance.

To support a relaunch, part of the recovery framework is also focused on restoring liquidity.

Incentives and financial support are being directed toward market makers to rebuild order books and improve trading conditions once the platform resumes full operations.

Without sufficient liquidity, even a technically sound relaunch would struggle to attract users back.

Another major shift is the protocol’s decision to move away from USDC as its primary settlement asset and instead adopt USDT.

This change comes after roughly $230 million of the stolen funds were converted into USDC and moved across chains during the exploit.

The switch signals a reassessment of risk and reflects a broader effort to restructure the platform’s core infrastructure following the incident.

Overall, Drift’s recovery plan is built around gradual restitution rather than immediate payouts.

Its success will depend on how quickly the platform can regain user trust, restore liquidity, and generate enough revenue to sustain long-term repayments.

The post Circle Internet Group faces class action over failure to stop Drift Protocol exploit funds appeared first on CoinJournal.

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PI steadies at $0.1770 amid core team’s mainnet upgrade plans

Key takeaways 

  • Pi Network’s PI token holds steady at $0.1730, up 4.5% from the previous day. 
  • The Pi Core Team’s upgrade to enable smart contracts, with a deadline set for April 27, is a potential catalyst. 

Pi Network’s PI token has managed to hold steady around $0.1770 as of Friday, adding a 4.5% gain from the previous day. 

The Pi Core Team (PCT) is driving momentum with the impending upgrade to the mainnet, which will enable smart contract functionality—expected to be a key catalyst for price movement.

PI rallies ahead of the Protocol 22 upgrade

PI is up 4.5% in the last 24 hours, outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market. The rally comes after the Pi Core Team announced that April 27 is the final deadline for all mainnet nodes to complete necessary steps for remaining connected to the network, as part of the Stellar Protocol version 22 upgrade. 

While this upgrade will cause a brief 15-minute downtime during internal data transfer, it lays the groundwork for future improvements. Additionally, the full upgrade to version 26 is slated for June 22, ahead of Pi2Day on June 28.

Will PI rally higher in the near term?

The PI/USD 4-hour chart is bearish and efficient, trading above the $0.1770 level. However, Pi Network remains in a bearish posture, with the token still trading below the 50-, 100-, and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs). 

The immediate resistance level is marked at $0.1785, corresponding to the 50-day EMA, followed by stronger resistance at $0.1865 (100-day EMA) and $0.2334 (200-day EMA).

However, momentum indicators present mixed signals. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 71 is above the neutral 50 line, and is heading into the overbought region.

PI/USD 4H Chart

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) crossing above its signal line indicates growing bullish momentum. 

On the downside, key support is found at $0.1556, near the February 23 low, with further weakness potentially exposing $0.1310 if the market slips below this level.

The post PI steadies at $0.1770 amid core team’s mainnet upgrade plans appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Chiliz price surges amid adoption in South Korea and UEFA Champions League excitement

  • Chiliz price rose more than 13% to above $0.0433.
  • Korea’s Naver Pay has onboarded nearly 1 million users to the Chiliz Chain.
  • Top European teams with fan tokens have advanced in the UEFA Champions League.

Chiliz (CHZ) rose more than 13% as investor momentum strengthened.

The token’s price moved higher following a new milestone in Asia’s crypto adoption, while renewed excitement around European football also supported gains, pushing CHZ to its highest level this month.

Chiliz Chain gets Korean boost

Chiliz is looking to gain traction in South Korea following a new integration with Naver Pay, the country’s dominant payment gateway.

On Thursday, Chiliz announced that Naver is bringing its 33 million daily active users on-chain via Chiliz Chain, a move aimed at supercharging growth in the SportFi ecosystem.

As part of the integration, Chiliz said its infrastructure layer—focused on fan engagement and tokenized sports experiences—has added nearly one million new participants in South Korea.

More than 900,000 Naver Pay Wallets have already been created on the Chiliz Chain, enabling users to access fan tokens, digital collectibles, and blockchain-based sports rewards.

The partnership represents a significant step in linking traditional fintech platforms with Web3 infrastructure, particularly in South Korea, a market known for its high cryptocurrency trading activity.

CHZ Token gains as Europe’s football giants advance in UCL

CHZ’s price action intensified amid UCL semifinal drama.

The token surged by more than 13% intraday, peaking above $0.0433 and emerging as one of the top performers on the day. Gains aligned with a spike in trading volume, which had exploded 262% to over $175 million, as of writing, to signal robust investor enthusiasm.

This rally coincides with Chiliz’s announcement on X that a Fan Token-backed team is assured a UCL final spot.

Notably, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have all advanced to the semifinals, amplifying hype for their Chiliz-powered Fan Tokens.

Fan Tokens, which let supporters vote on club decisions and earn rewards, saw heightened trading as fans rallied behind their teams.

Chiliz price outlook

Analysts remain bullish on CHZ ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, projecting a potential rally as the showpiece event draws closer.

In the short-term, CHZ could climb to $0.06 if Korean onboarding sustains and UCL finals deliver fan token spikes.

However, primary resistance sits at $0.045 and $0.05. On the downside, immediate support is likely at $0.038.

Macro and geopolitical factors could catalyze broader market corrections, which means Chiliz’s price may swing alongside top coins.

The post Chiliz price surges amid adoption in South Korea and UEFA Champions League excitement appeared first on CoinJournal.

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BNB price outlook as quarterly burn cuts supply to 134.7M

  • BNB price hovers near $620 as bulls target a fresh short-term rally.
  • The 35th quarterly burn has reduced BNB supply to 134.7 million.
  • A shift in macro and geopolitical conditions could bolster BNB and other altcoins.

BNB price traded to highs of $630 on Wednesday, recovering to intraday highs after earlier moves across crypto dented bulls’ plans.

The rejection at the multi-week peak means the Binance Coin’s value is back near the $620 mark, where buyers are looking to pile in as the BNB Foundation reveals its second quarterly burn of 2026 has cut the native token supply to approximately 134.7 million.

Could this supply squeeze help BNB price higher, or are short-term headwinds too strong for bulls?

BNB supply drops amid quarterly burn

According to the BNB Foundation, the 35th quarterly burn has permanently removed 1,569,307.34 BNB tokens valued at $1.02 billion from circulation.

This means the total supply has dropped further, with the metric now at 134,786,916.53 and reinforcing the coin’s deflationary mechanism.

On a bullish note, what this burn does is to advance BNB toward the 100 million token target.

More than 40% of the initial supply has now been eliminated since BNB’s launch, with regular removals introduced in 2021. In January this year, Binance marked the 34th burn, which removed 1.37 million BNB worth $1.29 billion at the time.

Surging on-chain metrics, such as all-time high daily active users and dApp usage, have directly boosted the burn’s scale amid growth in real-world assets, DeFi, gaming, and layer-2 ecosystems.

BNB price analysis

While BNB exploded in 2025, the past several months have seen the ecosystem token struggle with downside pressure. Controversial headlines and fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) around Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, have contributed to the downtrend since the highs of $1,300.

Notably, the 54% dip from the ATH of $1,370 on October 13, 2025, aligned with overall losses for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds have largely capped BTC, with the latest uptick stalling around $76,000.

Currently, BNB price lingers near $620, slightly off highs seen after the burn and in line with Bitcoin’s retest of the $74k level.

Despite this outlook, a double-bottom formation at the $600 support zone points to bullish reversal prospects for BNB. Positive momentum indicators and fresh flows could strengthen this picture.

If Bitcoin rides macro and geopolitical tailwinds to a new year-to-date peak, BNB could test resistance at $800.

The supply zone coincides with the 50-week moving average; breaching it could propel prices to the $1,000-$1,200 hurdle.

However, a close below $600 risks awakening more bears.

If this mirrors a broader crypto downturn, the next support level could be around $530.

The post BNB price outlook as quarterly burn cuts supply to 134.7M appeared first on CoinJournal.