Dear Gate users, partners, and media friends:

This year, Gate celebrates its thirteenth anniversary.
When I founded this platform, Bitcoin and blockchain were still very niche topics.
Today, Gate has become a platform serving hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
Along the way, we couldn’t have done it without the trust and support of every user, partner, and team member.
On this 13th anniversary, I want to share with you the development history of Gate, its milestone achievements, and our thoughts on the future.

Starting Point: Leaving Certainty, Embracing the Unknown
Thirteen years ago, I made an untimely choice on a seemingly clear life path.
At that time, I was doing postdoctoral research abroad in optoelectronics.
Following the existing track, becoming an academic researcher was a highly certain and widely recognized path.
From a rational perspective, it required little additional judgment.
If I had continued focusing on my original field—optoelectronics and chip technology—perhaps today would be a completely different trajectory.
In those waves of technological change that also profoundly impact the world, these paths are not lacking in certainty or value.
But at that moment, the real question wasn’t “which path is more stable,” but which direction is closer to the starting point of the next structural revolution.

The blockchain industry at that time was a path with almost no reference points and lacking consensus.
It was more uncertain and easier to overlook;
but because of that, it demanded higher long-term judgment, patience, and was more of a personal decision.
No team, no resources, not even a clear roadmap.
From an individual to a small team of a dozen, and now to a global organization of nearly three thousand people—this process itself has been an answer.

I still remember the first team-building event.
It was a cold winter, only a few people, faces red from the cold.
There weren’t many arrangements, and it wasn’t really a “team” yet.
Just sitting together, talking about some still uncertain things.
But at that moment, it felt very real.
Later, as the team grew, the path became clearer, many things became orderly and manageable.
Yet, recalling that moment now, I still feel that the starting point was already there.

Defining Ability Through Action
Looking back, this choice was not accidental.
Since I was very young, I was used to making my own decisions and preferred to verify answers myself rather than accept ready-made paths.
After graduating from middle school and owning my first computer, I began systematically self-learning programming, dismantling devices, and repeatedly assembling—these were the most engaged activities at that time.
Compared to the results, I cared more about the process itself—understanding how it works, then reconstructing it.
This interest in “underlying mechanisms” led me to choose electronics during university, which was not just a professional choice but a deeper extension.
During that period, I spent much more time on experiments and practical work than on regular coursework, gradually forming a problem-oriented learning approach.

In my master's and PhD stages, this state was further amplified.
Most of the time was spent in the lab, from design and debugging to repeated verification—single-paced but highly focused.
Just like Gate’s recent investment in Intelligent Web3 R&D, the team worked tirelessly for nearly two months—everything was exciting, and we achieved it.
Looking back, this experience has had some long-term impacts, including sensitivity to details, patience in dissecting complex systems, and an almost instinctive work rhythm.
Some colleagues jokingly say this was probably the starting point of my habit of working late into the night.

In the early days of entrepreneurship, I was often the last to leave the office.
Many decisions and thoughts were completed late at night.
After dawn, I would rest for a few hours before starting the next cycle.
Within the team, it was often joked that my working hours seemed to always have a “time difference” with others.
But to some extent, this rhythm is how I understand problems and make judgments.
I seem to enjoy this “undisturbed time” more.

In an unverified and even misunderstood field, choosing long-term investment is inherently risky.
At that time, the industry had no clear rules, no mature infrastructure, and lacked basic trust consensus.
What we faced was not just technical issues but a more fundamental judgment—whether the world truly needs to be reconstructed.
Our answer was affirmative.
Thus, Gate took its first step.

To understand this journey more intuitively, in those initial years, I was almost always walking a “path with the fewest people.”
Being misunderstood was normal; being questioned or ignored was also normal.
But looking back, this “less traveled path” often marks the beginning of a new technological paradigm—just like today’s Intelligent Web3, which, in its early stages, also experienced long periods of skepticism, scarce consensus, and repeated validation of long-term value.
From being overlooked to being widely discussed;
from fringe exploration to gradually becoming part of the infrastructure.
Throughout this process, Gate has maintained an innovative pace, bravely leading the industry, constantly trying new products, technologies, and models.

Looking back, I have also taken some wrong turns and made imperfect decisions, but every attempt has accumulated experience and is worthwhile.
I once told the team that the cost of paying for mistakes in our history exceeded one billion dollars.
During the industry’s most fervent times, we did not lose our basic judgment;
during the most pessimistic times, we did not give up long-term investment.
We gradually realized that what truly determines how far a platform can go is not its ability to expand in a bull cycle, but its self-restraint in a bear cycle.
Whether to resist temptation, stay clear-headed in risks, or stick to its underlying logic in uncertainty—these are far more important than growth itself.
It is these continuous attempts and progress that have transformed us from initial explorers into industry pioneers with more constructive influence.

2025: Structural Advancement and Industry Rebuilding
Today, as we stand at the start of the 13th year, looking at this industry, it is shifting from “narrative-driven” to “infrastructure-driven”;
from “emotional amplification” to “value sedimentation”;
from partial innovation to broader real-world connection.
New variables are entering this system: technology, regulation, macro environment, and a broader user base.
This means the industry’s threshold is rising.
Meanwhile, the opportunities for true long-term players are also growing.
Gate is gradually shifting from a builder to a shaper of industry structure.
We are no longer limited to providing trading services but are trying to build more comprehensive connections—linking users and assets, liquidity and innovation, different markets and structural opportunities.
This is a more complex path, also implying greater responsibility.

For 2025, this is not just a year of simple growth but a conscious structural push.
In the core markets of spot and derivatives, we continue to enhance depth, efficiency, and risk control, further consolidating our leading position in mainstream trading systems.
These capabilities are not just about scale but are the foundation for cycling through markets.
But the more critical changes happen outside of trading.
Over the past year, we have been actively advancing licensing and localization capabilities under compliance and globalization frameworks.
This is not passive adaptation but proactive entry into a higher-standard competitive environment.
Meanwhile, we are simultaneously exploring multiple directions:
RWA, enabling crypto assets to establish more direct links with the real world;
TradFi, gradually reshaping the boundaries between traditional finance and on-chain systems;
from CeFi to DeFi, making platforms no longer just carriers of centralized structures but part of a more open ecosystem;
and AI, redefining the efficiency boundaries of trading, risk control, and decision-making.
These seemingly different paths are converging into a clearer mainline—industry shifting from “trade-driven” to “infrastructure-driven.”

In this stage, the essence of competition has changed.
It’s no longer just about product competition but system capability competition;
not just about scale but about structure and standards.
What Gate is doing is not chasing every short-term narrative but laying out key layers in advance.
When the industry enters the next cycle, platforms with true infrastructure capabilities will no longer just be participants but part of the rules.
We understand that such positioning is not given in the short term.
It can only be built gradually through continuous investment, restraint, and judgment.
2025 is just a stage in this process.

Newborn and Future: Gate Defines the Next Twelve Years
The next twelve years for Gate are more like a complete cycle.
From early exploration, to mid-term expansion, to cyclical contraction and reconstruction—
we have experienced almost all phases of this industry: booms, bubbles, collapses, rebuilds, and new consensus formation.
It’s not just about time accumulation but a repeated calibration of cognition, capability, and boundaries.
And the 13th year, for us, is not just “continuation.”
It’s more like a new starting point.

If we compare Gate to a person, what does entering the Teenage years at thirteen mean?
It’s no longer an individual dependent on external environment for survival, nor has it become a fully stable, mature system.
It begins to have its own judgment, understand rules, and even try to define rules.
It knows the world is not simple, but still chooses to move forward.

The next phase has already begun.
Every layout and every innovation is not only about growth but also about reshaping the industry landscape.
We will use higher-level strategies, continuous innovation, and deep industry insights to reshape rules and lead trends, making Gate an indispensable force in the market landscape.

Thank you for your trust and choices at different stages.
In an industry full of volatility and uncertainty, such trust is never taken for granted.
In the 13th year, we are still on the road.
Like a growing individual—imperfect but more aware; not making promises lightly but responsible for every choice.
The future is long, and we walk together.

Gate Founder and CEO Dr. Han