Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han Lin believes that the true turning point for the crypto industry isn’t just about market volatility—it’s about fundamentally redefining the boundaries of finance.
As global macroeconomic uncertainty intensifies, capital is searching worldwide for assets that can "withstand the test of cycles." Whether it’s traditional safe havens like gold and silver, or emerging digital assets like Bitcoin, they’re all addressing the same challenge of our era: how to preserve value in an unpredictable world.
01 Strategic Foundation: From Security and Compliance to Openness and Integration
As of January 2026, Gate’s global registered user base has surpassed 48 million. This milestone reflects a long-term strategy, in place since its founding in 2013, that puts compliance and security first.
Dr. Han Lin’s motivation for founding Gate comes from personal experience. In an early Bitcoin transaction, he fell victim to fraud and lost assets that were quite valuable at the time. This experience solidified his commitment to building a platform that ordinary people could trust.
As a result, Gate chose a different path from many of its peers. Instead of pursuing rapid, growth-at-all-costs expansion, Gate focused on building a solid and transparent foundation. It was one of the earliest exchanges in the industry to adopt proof of reserves and has consistently maintained reserves exceeding user liabilities.
This "no shortcuts" philosophy has enabled Gate to remain stable through multiple periods of extreme market volatility, never freezing user withdrawals or seeking emergency capital.
Today, Gate and its affiliated entities have obtained, or are in the process of applying for, licenses and approvals in multiple jurisdictions, including the EU, Dubai, Australia, and the Bahamas. Gate has also established deep partnerships with regulated stablecoin issuers.
02 Product Innovation: Breaking Capital Barriers with USDx
At the heart of Gate’s TradFi strategy is solving three core pain points crypto users face when accessing traditional assets: fragmented accounts, inefficient settlement, and inconsistent risk controls.
Gate’s TradFi section allows users to use USDT as collateral to directly trade traditional financial assets such as precious metals, forex, global equity CFDs, major indices, and commodities.
The key lies in its innovative USDx pricing system. USDx isn’t a new cryptocurrency or fiat currency—it’s an internal accounting unit pegged 1:1 to USDT.
When users transfer USDT into their TradFi account, their balance is displayed as USDx. The underlying value is fully backed by USDT, with no need for manual conversion and no extra exchange or custody fees.
This design delivers "instant settlement and zero cost." Users no longer have to endure lengthy fiat on- and off-ramp processes with traditional brokers, high bank fees, or exchange rate losses. Instead, they can invest in global traditional markets with the same efficiency they’re used to in the crypto world.
03 Unified Account: Managing Both Worlds on a Single Platform
Gate TradFi isn’t just about "importing" traditional assets onto the platform. Through deep native integration, it has redefined the user trading experience.
Product features are built directly into the main Gate app, appearing alongside spot and derivatives trading in the same menu. Switching between asset classes is as simple as toggling between BTC and ETH in a perpetual contracts dropdown.
All trades are powered by the MT5 system, with account data and trading records synced in real time between the Gate app and the MT5 client.
With a unified account system, users can view both the risk exposure of their crypto assets and the margin levels of their TradFi assets on a single screen, enabling centralized monitoring of cross-market positions.
The TradFi assets offered on Gate are tailored to crypto users’ needs, including gold as a safe-haven favorite, major forex pairs with up to 500x leverage, and global benchmark indices like the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500.
04 Core Advantage: Efficiency and Cost Revolution within a Compliance Framework
Gate’s TradFi strategy forms a powerful moat by turning compliance from a "constraint" into a significant competitive advantage.
With the rollout of global crypto regulatory frameworks like the EU’s MiCA, the industry is entering its first true "supercycle of regulation." Exchanges unable or unwilling to adapt to compliance are exiting the market.
Gate’s early regulatory positioning has made it a trusted platform for institutions and sophisticated users who require rigorous due diligence. This foundation attracts traditional capital seeking a secure and compliant entry point.
On the user side, Gate TradFi offers a highly competitive cost structure. Trading commissions can be as low as $0.018 per transaction, with exclusive VIP fee tiers.
For quantitative traders who frequently rebalance or day traders seeking high turnover, this low-fee strategy combined with high capital efficiency is a major draw.
05 The Road Ahead: Toward a Trillion-Dollar Tokenized Asset Market
Gate’s vision goes far beyond trading. Dr. Han Lin points out that the bigger opportunity lies in the tokenization of traditional assets and the digitization of global finance—a potential market projected to reach trillions of dollars over the next decade.
As of January 2026, the total value of tokenized assets worldwide has exceeded $2 billion, a more than 20-fold increase from $90 million at the start of 2022.
Growth in tokenized commodities and equities has been especially notable. For example, Ondo’s tokenized silver product SLVon saw its market cap surge over 80% in 30 days, nearing $22 million.
The total value locked in RWA (real-world asset) protocols has surpassed that of DEXs, making it the fifth largest DeFi category. This shift confirms that crypto is evolving into a new global venue for the transfer and settlement of traditional assets.
Gate’s TradFi infrastructure is built as a bridge for this seamless asset flow. Gate positions itself not just as a trading platform, but as a critical hub connecting traditional industries and the digital world.
Looking Forward
When a user holds Bitcoin, a gold CFD, and a Nasdaq index contract simultaneously on Gate, they’re managing more than just a trading account.
They’re pioneering a new paradigm for global asset allocation. Capital moves freely between different asset types, regions, and risk profiles, with all decisions and executions happening on a single interface—no regulatory or technical barriers to cross.
Underlying this is Gate’s long-term commitment to embedding "trust" and "openness" into its DNA. Dr. Han Lin believes, "When technology is built with integrity and curiosity, it can bring millions safely into the blockchain world."
Gate’s story is about building a solid path to a broader financial future—by exercising discipline and perseverance in an industry defined by cycles, leverage, and volatility.
