At 6 a.m., while the New York Stock Exchange is still asleep, an Asian trader has already completed the first Tesla purchase of the day using USDT on Gate.
This isn’t a scene from traditional finance, but a daily reality in Gate’s Stock Token Zone. Since the beginning of 2025, total trading volume in Gate’s Stock Token Zone has surpassed $140,000,000,000. During the same period, more than 298,000 on-chain addresses worldwide have held stock tokens.
While traditional brokerage accounts are still waiting for the opening bell, orders in crypto accounts have already been settled. This "time gap" and "capital efficiency" advantage is driving smart money to migrate from traditional brokers to crypto trading platforms. In this article, we’ll break down why Gate has become the top gateway for cross-asset trading migration.
Breaking Free from Time Constraints: 24/7 Stock Trading That Never Closes
The biggest cost in traditional US stock trading isn’t commissions—it’s time.
When Tesla releases an unexpectedly strong earnings report after hours, or the Federal Reserve sends signals outside of regular trading sessions, investors with traditional brokerage accounts can only wait—wait for the next day’s open, wait for market sentiment to play out, and ultimately accept less-than-ideal execution prices.
But on Gate, time never stops.
Gate’s stock tokens leverage blockchain infrastructure and a professional market-making mechanism to deliver true 24/7 uninterrupted trading. Even when US markets are closed, price discovery continues: market makers reference prices from markets like Europe that are still open, as well as Nasdaq 100 index futures, to provide continuous two-way quotes for stock tokens.
This isn’t a simulation—it’s real liquidity. In January 2026, after Meta’s earnings release, its stock token METAX surged 6.43% intraday on Gate, quoted at $717.95. At that moment, it was 4 a.m. Eastern Time, and Asian traders were enjoying the thrill of instant execution.
For traders who see "liquidity" as their lifeline, 24/7 trading isn’t just a convenience—it’s the baseline.
Capital Never Sleeps: Buy Apple with USDT, Hedge Profits with BTC
What’s the biggest pain point in traditional cross-market allocation? Blocked capital channels.
Converting crypto assets to fiat, wiring to an overseas bank account, then to a brokerage account—this process takes 3–5 business days, with added currency conversion losses and compliance friction. Many crypto-native traders don’t avoid US stocks out of disinterest, but because they don’t want to leave their familiar capital ecosystem just to "allocate" funds.
Gate’s solution is remarkably simple: trade directly with USDT.
Whether it’s Tesla, Apple, or NVIDIA, all stock tokens are priced in USDT. This means:
- BTC profits earned in a crypto bull market can be used to buy US stocks without converting back to fiat;
- If you turn bearish on US stocks, you can close positions at any time, with funds remaining in stablecoin form in your crypto account;
- All gains and losses are settled in crypto assets—no need for fiat on- or off-ramps.
One account, one password, one liquidity pool. USDT is the bridge—it enables atomic swaps between crypto assets and US stock prices, leapfrogging the traditional T+2 settlement cycle by an entire era.
Elevating Strategies: From Simple Holding to Compound Returns
Traditional brokers offer only one basic form of stock trading: buy and wait for appreciation. Want to short? You need to borrow shares. Want leverage? You need a margin account, risk review, maybe even a phone call.
In Gate’s Stock Token Zone, strategy tools are native and diverse.
Spot trading meets long-term allocation needs. Every token is fully backed by underlying shares, held by regulated custodians, with token prices pegged 1:1 to the underlying stock. Holders enjoy corresponding economic rights—dividends are reinvested, ensuring the token’s intrinsic value compounds over time.
Perpetual contracts open up entirely new possibilities. The same Tesla stock token can be held long-term in the spot market or traded with leverage—long or short—in the derivatives market. Earnings volatility, macro data-driven expectations—short-term opportunities that are hard to access at traditional brokers become standard tools in Gate’s derivatives market.
Even more noteworthy is DeFi integration. Stock tokens aren’t just passive assets—they can be used as collateral in on-chain lending, liquidity mining, and other DeFi protocols, generating extra yield beyond stock price movement. Holding stocks is no longer just about waiting for appreciation—it’s about actively earning yield.
While traditional investors are still debating commission rates, Gate users are earning stock appreciation, shorting profits, and DeFi interest—all with the same assets.
Scale Proven: 89% Market Share and Expanding Boundaries
Users vote with their feet. Gate’s Stock Token Zone has surpassed $140,000,000,000 in cumulative trading volume. More telling: in December 2025, Gate’s monthly trading volume accounted for 89.1% of the global Ondo stock token market.
89.1% means that when global traders want to allocate to stock tokens, they default to Gate.
This market share is underpinned by Gate’s systematic investment in TradFi asset infrastructure. As of February 2026, Gate has listed over 60 tokenized stocks, covering everything from tech giants to popular ETFs:
- Tech stocks: TSLAx (Tesla), AAPLx (Apple), NVDAx (NVIDIA), GOOGLx (Google)
- Crypto-related stocks: MSTRx (MicroStrategy), COINx (Coinbase)
- ETF tokens: SPYx (S&P 500), QQQx (Nasdaq 100)
This isn’t a side experiment—it’s a large-scale migration of mainstream trading products.
Compliance and Security: Foundational Trust for 49 Million Users
For products bridging traditional finance and crypto, compliance isn’t a bonus—it’s the entry ticket.
Gate’s approach is comprehensive:
- Licensing: Gate holds a full license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), a MiCA license from Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), and other multi-jurisdictional approvals.
- Asset custody: All stock tokens are backed by underlying shares held by regulated third-party custodians, ensuring asset segregation. The platform maintains a 125% total reserve ratio.
- Technology: Gate is the first major exchange to implement zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology for asset reserve verification, and commits to 100% reserve coverage.
As of February 2026, Gate has served over 49 million registered users. In the crypto industry, a platform of this scale choosing a prudent, rather than aggressive, approach to asset tokenization is itself a direct commitment to user asset security.
How to Start Trading Stock Tokens on Gate?
If you’re ready to dive in, just four simple steps get you started with on-chain stock investing:
- Prepare funds: Log in to your Gate account and ensure your spot account holds USDT.
- Enter the Stock Token Zone: Click "Trade" in the top navigation and select "xStocks Spot Zone" or "TradFi Contracts."
- Search for your asset: Enter the trading pair you’re interested in, such as GOOGLx/USDT or TSLAx/USDT.
- Place your order: Enter the quantity you want to buy—fractional shares are supported, with a minimum of just $10.
Key Risk Considerations
While stock tokens offer tremendous convenience, rational traders should be aware of key differences:
- Rights: Token holders typically don’t have traditional shareholder voting rights, and dividend distribution differs from standard cash dividends—usually reflected through token value adjustments.
- Price tracking: Stock tokens are fundamentally price-tracking products, reflecting the market performance of the underlying stock, not direct ownership of the company.
- Market depth: While mainstream tokens enjoy strong liquidity, order books for some niche assets may be thinner than in traditional markets.
Conclusion
The essence of stock tokens isn’t just putting stocks on-chain. They’re tailor-made tools for crypto capital to access global asset prices.
They don’t aim to replace traditional brokers or convince value investors to change their habits. They solve one problem: When your primary capital is in crypto, and your trading habits are shaped by crypto markets, how do you efficiently, cost-effectively, and seamlessly participate in the growth of top global companies?
$14 billion in trading volume, 89% market share in a specialized segment, and 24/7 uninterrupted liquidity—all point to one conclusion:
Gate’s Stock Token Zone has become the default gateway for crypto capital to access global assets. As the boundaries between traditional finance and crypto continue to blur, the era of "one wallet, invest globally" is rapidly approaching.
