Gate.io is a cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2013. The exchange has endured the ups and downs in the cryptocurrency industry that have happened since then, and remains a very active trading platform, especially for altcoin enthusiasts.
The exchange, is accessible globally, except for users in certain jurisdictions. Notably, this includes the United States of America, Mainland China, Canada and Singapore. For some jurisdictions, Gate.io offers its services on a product-by-product basis (for example, users from Germany can use spot trading on the exchange but can’t trade derivatives).
Gate.io has a very extensive range of features, and we will cover the exchange’s most notable products in this article. Before we take a closer look at what Gate.io has to offer, let’s quickly run through some of its most important advantages and disadvantages:
Gate.io pros:
- Extremely large selection of listed cryptocurrencies
- Offers spot trading as well as a diverse range of derivatives products
- Supports staking, crypto lending, liquidity mining and other passive income options
- NFT-friendly features
Gate.io cons:
- Accounts can’t be directly funded with fiat currency
- Doesn’t accept customers from some jurisdictions, notably the United States and Canada
Supported cryptocurrencies
The Gate.io exchange supports a truly massive selection of cryptocurrencies. The platform lists practically all the major cryptocurrencies, as well as hundreds of smaller altcoins. Users should be aware that the liquidity for some of the “micro-cap” altcoins can be pretty low, although this shouldn’t cause too many issues for customers who are trading smaller amounts. When it comes to larger crypto assets, the liquidity on Gate.io is solid and will be more than sufficient even for users trading larger sizes.
Although, there are hundreds of different cryptocurrencies available for trading on Gate.io, here’s just a small sample of supported coins:
Trading products
Variety is the name of the game at Gate.io, and this also applies to their trading products. Of course, the exchange offers standard spot trading, but it also has derivatives products that are suitable for more advanced traders.
Spot trading
Spot trading on Gate.io is available in the “Standard” and “Professional” varieties. The difference between these two modes is the trading interface. The “Standard” mode provides a basic cryptocurrency trading interface that’s similar to what you will encounter on other cryptocurrency exchanges. By going to the “Advanced” mode, traders can customize the trading interface according to their needs. In this mode, multiple price charts can be displayed on the screen, and the layout of the interface can be customized with different color themes and layouts.
The charts on Gate.io are powered by TradingView, which allows traders to draw on the charts and use technical indicators to set up their trading strategies.
Margin trading
Gate.io supports margin trading, which allows traders to access leverage by borrowing crypto assets. Margin trading is available for a large number of crypto assets, although the list is slightly smaller than what’s available for trading on Gate.io’s spot markets. The leverage limits for margin trading on Gate.io range from 3x to 10x, and the limit depends on the specific cryptocurrency. For example, Bitcoin and Ethereum can be margin traded at 10x leverage, while the limit for Solana is set at 3x.
Passive income products
Passive income products are becoming increasingly important for cryptocurrency exchanges – many users don’t want to trade their coins actively, but are still interested in earning yield through staking, lending and other services. Gate.io has done a good job with catering to such customers, as the exchange has a suite of “Earn” products that encompasses crypto lending, staking, dollar-cost averaging, liquidity mining and more.
Users who want to earn yield on their crypto holdings can choose from a variety of products on Gate.io, which includes short-term and long-term products.
Gate.io also provides staking services for many of the Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrencies listed on the exchange. This includes coins like TRON, Cosmos, Algorand and Tezos. Fans of the Polkadot ecosystem can lock up their DOT or KSM tokens on Gate.io to participate in parachain slot auctions and earn token rewards from the projects they’re backing.
GateToken
Gate Token (GT) is an exchange token that provides numerous benefits to holders who are using the Gate.io exchange. In addition to functioning as the exchange token of Gate.io, GT is also the native token of the GateChain blockchain platform.
By holding GT, Gate.io users can increase the VIP Tier of their account. Users with a higher VIP Tier can access higher trading fee discounts, access IEOs and other token sales on Gate.io Startup, and purchase popular cryptocurrencies at a discount. GT holders can also vote on new token listings.
Gate.io Startup
The Gate.io Startup platform provides unique opportunities to holders of the Exchange’s GT token. It features token sales and airdrops from both new and established cryptocurrency projects. Depending on the project, tokens can be offered at discount or airdropped to users for free. Often, new projects that are featured on Gate.io Startup are then listed on the exchange shortly following the token sale.
NFT features
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are taking the crypto world by storm, and Gate.io has ensured that NFT enthusiasts have a place on their platform. The exchange features Initial NFT Offerings or INOs, where interested users can purchase NFTs from upcoming projects. Gate.io also has an NFT marketplace, where NFTs can be purchased from other users. Users can toggle between NFTs from issuers that have been verified by Gate.io, or browse the “Free Market” section which includes all NFTs on the marketplace.
Account funding options
After creating an account on Gate.io, users can fund their account with a cryptocurrency deposit. It’s also possible to buy cryptocurrency with fiat, although this is done through third-party services integrated by Gate.io to buy cryptocurrency with fiat. Users who want to buy crypto with a debit or credit card can do so via MoonPay, Simplex and other services supported by the exchange. For users who want to buy crypto via a bank transfer, Gate.io offers an integration with Legend Trading.
One improvement that we’d like to see Gate.io make would be to support direct fiat currency deposits through bank transfers. However, this isn’t always possible because it can be difficult for crypto exchanges to secure banking services in certain jursidictions.
The bottom line
Gate.io offers practically all of the features one would expect from a modern cryptocurrency exchange. With spot and derivatives trading, passive income products, IEO token sales and other products, Gate.io covers most of the key areas for crypto investors. Perhaps the most impressive property of Gate.io is the massive number of cryptocurrencies it offers for trading, which is practically unmatched across the cryptocurrency industry. However, there’s still room for improvement – the exchange doesn’t yet offer direct fiat currency deposits, and we would also like to see the exchange improve the quality of some of its English-language documentation.
