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Gate.io
On Gate.io's website
Insider’s Rating
3.71/5
Account Minimum
No minimum
Fees
Varies by tier level and discount
Pros
- More than 1700 coins
- NFT auction and creation platform that allows creators to mint NFTs without fees
- Margin accounts and futures available
- Crypto staking and lending options available
Cons
- Fee schedule can be complicated
- Hard-to-navigate platform
- Not available in the United States
- You'll pay more for transactions if you're not using the gatetoken (GT)
Product Details
- Promotion: Sign up and get a $100 voucher
About Gate.io
The global cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io offers over 1,700 cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and exchange services for traders. Digital assets can be purchased and sold through spot trading, leverage trading, futures, and ETFs. Gate.io is suitable for both beginner and advanced traders and offers multiple earning programs.
The crypto exchange also employs several blockchain solutions — including cross-cryptocurrency address technology, hot and cold wallet storage, multi-signature security protection technology, and real-time asset transfer technology — to keep its users' assets and transactions safe.
Gate.io provides a large catalog of educational guides, blogs, streams, and news content suitable for beginners and advanced traders. The "Beginner Zone" section on the website offers guides on a variety of topics like buying crypto and how to conduct spot trading.
Gate.io is a global platform but it isn't available in the US. In March 2022, the business launched the website for Gate US, which will offer many of the same trading features as its parent platform. There's no official launch date as of yet and the website only states that it is "coming soon".
The exchange's mobile app is available on iOS and Android devices.
Gate.io: Overall Rating
| Feature | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Fees | 4.50 |
| Investment selection | 4.50 |
| Access | 2.00 |
| Ethics | 3.75 |
| Customer service | 4.00 |
| Security | 3.00 |
| Overall score | 3.71 |
Gate.io Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|
|
Gate.io lets you trade cryptocurrencies, futures, ETFs, and NFTs for other cryptocurrencies (i.e. exchanging bitcoin for dogecoin and vice versa). Gate.io's ETFs are made up of mainstream cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and ether. The platform offers instant trading of more than 20 fiat currencies.
You can also utilize trading bots, which use a variety of quantitative strategies (auto and customized options), to mimic top Gate.io earners.
Despite the beginner-focused content and access to research and trading guides, Gate.io's platform is difficult to navigate and may not be accessible to beginners. New investors might find it difficult to read the platform's trending charts and market updates while sorting through the multiple landing pages, programs, and services.
Another major drawback of Gate.io is that you can't withdraw fiat currencies directly from the platform. Instead, you'd have to transfer your digital asset to a different cryptocurrency exchange, trade those assets, and then withdraw fiat currencies from the secondary platform.
Is Gate.io Trustworthy?
Personal Finance Insider assesses trustworthiness by reviewing each investment platform's Better Business Bureau profile. BBB ratings range from A+ to F and reflect the bureau's opinion of how well a company interacts with its customers, but Gate.io doesn't have a BBB profile at this time.
In 2023, blockchain security tracker CerrtiKAlert raised awareness of possible suspicious activity from Gate.io after the platform was hacked in 2018 and $230 million worth of digital assets was stolen from the platform. At the time, Gate.io allegedly had not disclosed the attack to its customers or the public. This issue came back into focus in 2022 after another crypto user, ZachXBT, noticed that $3.2 million of the stolen funds (in the form of ether) were transferred into the same account after being dormant for over four years. Much of this information was revealed via a Twitter thread and has not undergone an official investigation. Gate.io has not responded to these allegations.
In October 2022, Gate.io's official Twitter account was hacked. Fake giveaways were tweeted out to users asking for folks to connect their digital wallets to a suspicious link. The scam was luckily caught early and shut down.
There are no lawsuits or charges filed against Gate.io at this time.
Ways to Invest with Gate.io
Gate.io has only one account option that can be customized through financial products, trading features, and programs. Here are some of Gate.io's most notable investing features.
Spot Trading
Gate.iooffers multiple ways to buy cryptocurrencies. You can buy crypto with credit cards or bank transfers, but you can also purchase more assets with crypto-to-crypto trading (this is also known as spot trading). In other words, you can sell one cryptocurrency to purchase another.
You can also use the exchange's "push transactions" feature to transfer a crypto asset to another account, and Gate.io's "flash swap" functionality lets you swap one currency with another within minutes. And the platform offers futures trading, ETF trading, margin trading, and crypto lending.
Margin Trading
You can choose between two margin levels:
- Isolated margin: Users assign a margin to a certain position and it only liquidates if the margin falls below the desired maintenance level.
- Cross margin: Users can assign the margin between two positions within the same cryptocurrency. The margin then takes funds from the account balance as needed in order to avoid liquidation.
Copy Trading
If you'd rather rely on the expertise of other experienced traders, Gate.io's copy trading feature allows you to mirror the strategies of successful traders. You can easily view other users' performance to decide whether you'd like to copy their investment strategies, and Gate.io also offers daily copy-trading strategy recommendations.
NFTs
If you're looking to create or purchase NFTs, Gate.io's Magic Box NFT platform could also be right for you. The platform allows for auctions and trading of NFTs in a vast range of areas, including art, games, music, and more.
Plus, creators can minimize gas fees by minting (this is the process for creating an NFT and adding it to the blockchain) for free.
Sub Accounts
Alongside a main account, Gate.io users can also open a sub-account for more investment and asset management strategies. Main accounts are now referred to as "master" accounts, and users can easily move assets between the different accounts.
The page linked on the Gate.io site to further explain the purpose of sub-accounts can no longer be found. The only other information listed is that sub-accounts are not allowed to use:
- Fiat lending
- C2C fiat trading
- Withdrawal
- POINT transfer
- Gatecode
Gate.io Earn
The Gate.io Earn feature allows traders to earn passive income through pre-established investing products. The platform determines the best investment products for you based on risk level, time horizon, and similar factors. Gate.io APR ranges from 1.5% to 30% APR depending on the investment package.
Some products include:
- Daily Sharkfin
- Weekly Sharkfin
- Bearish Sharkfin
- Bullish Sharkfin
Gate.io Fees
There's no account minimum to open an account, and Gate.io doesn't clarify if a certain account balance is needed to unlock features like margin trading or futures trading.
Gate.io offers 16 VIP tier levels based on trading volume. Tier levels determine discount rates on spot trading, futures trading, crypto lending, interest rates, and more. Discounts tend to range between 0% to 70% with interest rates around 5.4% to 18%. You can check out the full list of tiers and fees structure.
Methodology: How We Reviewed Gate.io
Gate.io cryptocurrency exchange was reviewed using Personal Finance Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to examine investment options, ethics, fees, and overall customer experience when reviewing investing platforms. Platforms are given a rating from 0 to 5.
Cryptocurrency exchanges typically offer multiple assets, trading tools, and other educational resources. Some platforms are better for more advanced investors or active investors, while others may be better for beginners and passive investors. Gate.io was evaluated with a focus on how it performs in each category.
Gate.io — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Gate.io legitimate?
Yes. Gate.io is a legitimate investment company for cryptocurrency trading and NFTs. Gate.io isn't yet available to US investors.
Can US citizens use Gate.io?
No, US citizens cannot use Gate.io at this time. The company launched the website for Gate US in 2022, but it's still not up and running.
Is Gate.io a US company?
Gate.io previously stopped serving US traders, but it launched Gate US in March 2022. It says US customers will soon receive access to the digital Gate.us crypto exchange.
How do you withdraw money from Gate.io?
If you're using the Gate.io mobile app, you can withdraw funds by going to "wallet" and clicking "withdraw." You can also click on "spot account" and withdraw your desired cryptocurrency. You can 't withdraw fiat currencies.
How Gate.io Compares
Gate.io vs. Coinbase
Gate.ioand Coinbase both offer a vast collection of cryptocurrency products and NFTs. But Gate.io offers way more coins and tokens as Coinbase only offers 250 cryptocurrencies for trading.
While Coinbase's easy-to-follow fees, simple interface, and educational resources make it an ideal platform for both beginners and traders of all types, its lack of margin accounts may make it less appealing for traders looking to expand beyond basic crypto trading.
That said, Gate.io isn't currently available in the US. Plus, its inaccessible and convoluted platform makes it not only hard to navigate, but also difficult to find up-to-date information. In general, Coinbase is a better option for beginners and US traders.
Gate.io vs. Kraken
Like Gate.io, Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers a large selection of coins and tokens, account perks, and futures trading.
Gate.io has Kraken beat when it comes to crypto selection with Kraken only supporting 220 assets. But Kraken is an overall better choice for advanced users due to its Pro version, which offers margin trading, lower fees, and advanced charting tools. Kraken is also available in the US.
Rickie Houston
Senior Wealth-Building Reporter
Rickie Houston was a senior wealth-building reporter for Business Insider, tasked with covering brokerage products, investment apps, online advisor services, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other wealth-building financial products. Before Insider, Rickie worked as a personal finance writer at SmartAsset, focusing on retirement, investing, taxes, and banking topics. He's contributed to stories published in the Boston Globe, and his work has also been featured in Yahoo News. He graduated from Boston University, where he contributed as a staff writer and sports editor for Boston University News Service.
Tessa Campbell
Junior Investing Reporter
Tessa Campbell is a Junior Investing Reporter for Personal Finance Insider. She reports on investing-related topics like cryptocurrency, the stock market, and retirement savings accounts. She originally joined the PFI team as a Personal Finance Reviews Fellow in 2022.Her love of books, research, crochet, and coffee enriches her day-to-day life.
Elias Shaya
Compliance Associate
Elias Shaya is a Compliance Associate on the Personal Finance Insider team based in New York City, whichensures content accuracy and editorial independence so readers are always getting up-to-date and objective financial advice.The team also works to minimize risk for partners by ensuring language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Elias is the point person for the loans sub-vertical and works with the editorial team to ensure that all rates and information for personal and student loans are up-to-date and accurate.He joined Insider in February 2022 as a fellow on the compliance team.
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