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Gate.io Review: Deep Dive Into Gate.io Exchange

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In just a few short years, Gate.io has skyrocketed to global acclaim, now boasting a presence in over 200 countries around the globe. Get ready to be amazed by all the exciting possibilities Gate.io offers!

Gate.io offers its users the opportunity to trade an impressive portfolio of crypto assets. With a staggering list of over 1700 cryptocurrencies and more than 3000 trading pairs, the possibilities are nearly endless! From spot and margin trading to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Gate.io has it all. But that's not all! Gate.io has diversified its offerings even further, introducing a range of derivatives, including futures, options, and the Callable Bull/Bear Contracts (CBBC).

It's an awesome exchange that provides a wealth of options and opportunities, catering to both newcomers and seasoned trading pros. So, strap in and get ready as we dive into this all-encompassing review of the Gate.io exchange.

Background & History of Gate.io

Launched in 2013 by the visionary Lin Han, Gate.io started as one of China's pioneering cryptocurrency exchanges, originally known as Bter.com. But in 2017, when the Chinese government imposed restrictions on fiat-to-crypto trading, Gate.io boldly rose to the challenge and underwent a significant transformation.

Bidding farewell to its old domain and fiat cryptocurrency trading pairs, Gate.io embarked on an official journey to the Cayman Islands, shifting its focus to crypto-to-crypto. From these changes, a more vibrant and dynamic Gate.io was born.

Today, Gate.io stands as one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchanges on the planet. It boasts a premier Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) platform, a diverse selection of cryptocurrencies, and options for leveraged margin trading and crypto lending and borrowing. But that's not all! Gate.io also offers a plethora of financial services, including HODL & Earn, structured products, fixed periodic investments, dual-currency products, and mining options. It also hosts Gate Ventures, GateChain, Gate Grants, Gate Labs, Gate NFT, Wallet S2, MiniApp platform, and the GameFi Center.

In 2019, Gate.io launched the Gate SAFU fund, ensuring the safety and security of user assets. This useful initiative acts as a financial safety net and insurance fund for user assets. In 2020, Gate.io developed a ground-breaking technical proof, providing users with a method to verify their collateral, including their total assets on the platform. And if that wasn't exciting enough, in December 2022, Gate.io pledged an impressive USD 100 million to a liquidity support fund, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to supporting the crypto industry.

Adding to its international reach, Gate.io received a coveted crypto services license in Lithuania in September 2022. This exciting milestone led to the establishment of Gate.io’s Lithuania-based subsidiary, Gate Global UAB, which in collaboration with Visa, launched a crypto card in March 2023.

Finally, in May 2023, Gate.io made a grand entrance into Hong Kong with its new localized crypto trading platform, Gate.hk.

Gate.io’s Trading Interface

Initially, the plethora of available options might seem overwhelming, but the site's layout allows for easy navigation. By simply clicking on the relevant tabs on Gate.io’s main interface, users can access a diverse range of services including spot, margin, derivative, or block trading.

The trading interface (Pic. 1) is designed with user convenience in mind. Trading charts are centrally located, providing a range of chart types — Original, TradingView, and Depth. The order books and trades are positioned on the right side of the screen, alongside the order placement window. This window offers a variety of order types, including Limit, Market, Stop-Limit, and Advanced Bots like Iceberg Pro, TWAP, Loop Order, and Trailing Reversal Order. Moreover, options for manual trade, trading bots, and auto-invest are easily switchable.

Pic. 1. Gate.io’s trading interface.

If you find the web interface to be too cluttered or advanced, there's no need to worry. The [Layout] icon on the top right allows you to modify the layout to your preference. Additionally, the Beginner Zone (Pic. 2) provides an opportunity to learn more about the exchange and its features, with the added bonus of earning rewards while learning.

Pic. 2. Gate.io’s Beginner Zone.

The Gate.io Startup IEO platform (though not available in some regions) is another outstanding feature, enabling swift investment in the most promising cryptocurrency projects. It's designed to be user-friendly and accessible, requiring only a basic know-your-customer (KYC) check from investors.

👉 For those who prefer trading on the go, Gate.io provides mobile apps for both Android and iOS devices.

Gate.io’s Trading Volume

CoinMarketCap ranks Gate.io as the 11th largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, boasting a trading volume of $442 million within a 24-hour time frame. The exchange offers an extensive selection of 1780 coins and 3041 trading pairs, which includes nearly all of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, as well as a variety of less commonly found coins. This vast selection, significantly larger than many competing exchanges, is a key factor attracting savvy investors to Gate.io.

The platform operates globally in over 200 countries and handles nearly 50 different types of fiat currency. This includes accommodating deposits in a range of currencies such as U.S. dollars, British pounds, Euro, Czech koruna, Japanese yen, and even Tanzanian shilling, making it a versatile choice for users worldwide.

Gate.io’s Trading Fees

Like many cryptocurrency exchanges, Gate.io operates with a structure of reasonable fees. Trading on the platform incurs no deposit charges, but there is a 0.2% fee for both spot and margin trading (Pic. 3), applicable to both makers and takers. Withdrawal fees exist as well, and these vary based on the specific cryptocurrency being taken out. However, Gate.io offers incentives to its most active users and those holding its utility token by providing savings on trading fees.

Pic. 3. Spot trading fees example

Beyond the discounts offered based on trading volume, Gate.io also has a Point plan for further cost reductions. Each point a user holds equates to a 1 USDT decrease in trading costs. These points can be obtained through the use of USDT tokens in the user's Gate.io wallet section.

The fee structure for perpetual contract trading on Gate.io is slightly different. A 0.015% maker fee and a 0.050% taker fee are applied. However, points can be utilized here as well to lessen these costs.

Gate.io’s Trading Products & Services

For a simplified trading experience, Gate.io offers a Flash Swap (Pic. 4) feature that enables easy swapping of tokens with no additional charges.

Pic. 4. Gate.io’s Flash Swap aka Convert. 


In addition to trading, Gate.io provides opportunities to earn passive income. Under its 'Earn' section, you can find: Structured Products, Lend & Earn, Auto-Invest, Dual Currency Product, Liquidity Mining, Slot Auctions, and Cloud Mining.

👉 For example, Structured Products are pre-packaged investments that include assets linked to interest and derivatives. Returns are determined based on comparing the performance of the underlying asset to a linked price over the investment period. There are options for guaranteed principal and others for investors with a higher risk tolerance.

Unlike Binance's Earn section, Gate.io allows users to choose their risk levels, term, APR, and type of investment. Once you select your preference, the platform recommends the appropriate investment.

The Earn section on Gate.io offers a wide range of products with APRs from around 1.5% to 30%. The platform uses unique terminology for its investment products, such as Daily Sharkfin, Weekly Sharkfin, Bullish Sharkfin, and Bearish Sharkfin, each offering different interest rates and redemption terms based on the performance of the underlying asset.

KYC on Gate.io

To ensure accountability and security on Gate.io, you are required to go through a Know Your Customer (KYC) validation process. This involves submitting a government-issued identification document such as a passport, driver's license, or ID card to prove your identity. The time it takes to process this verification can vary, typically from 30 minutes up to 12 hours.

After the successful completion of your KYC process, you may request an increased withdrawal limit for a particular cryptocurrency if the current limit does not meet your needs.

Gate.io’s Controversies

It all began with a minor hiccup in 2018 — $230 million worth of digital assets mysteriously disappearing. Gate.io being the discreet type, didn't feel the need to share this minor inconvenience with its customers or the public. Fast forward to 2022, a user named ZachXBT, an amateur sleuth and crypto enthusiast, stumbles upon a dormant account suddenly bursting into life with $3.2 million worth of ether. Of course, all this is just chit-chat on the Twitter grapevine, not an official investigation in sight. And Gate.io? Silent as a crypt(ocurrency)!

Then, in October 2022, Gate.io's Twitter account gets hacked. Fake giveaways were being dished out like candy at a parade, luring in unsuspecting users to connect their digital wallets to a sketchy link. But fortunately for all parties, this dastardly plot was foiled early on.

As of now, Gate.io is as clean as a whistle, no lawsuits or charges in sight. Just a trail of digital breadcrumbs leading back to a digital heist that would make Danny Ocean blush.

Automated Trading on Gate.io

Apart from the Auto Invest feature, Gate.io offers an additional platform, which appears to be more robust than the Auto Invest tool, dedicated to copy trading and bot trading. In contrast to Auto Invest, the Copy Trading feature (Pic. 5) offers more transparency about the traders, providing detailed insights into their trading records before you decide to mirror their trades.

Pic. 5. Gate.io’s Copy Trading platform. 

Reviews suggest that this Copy Trading feature is widely appreciated among users and is generally received positively. However, remember that copying a trader's live trades inherently carries risks. It's crucial to do your own research to ensure that the trader's risk tolerance matches yours.

For those who are interested in creating trading bots, Gate.io allows you to publish your bot on their site. This enables you to earn a portion of the profits from anyone who uses your bot — a particularly attractive feature. Additionally, bots and strategies can be back-tested and stored as templates for future use and adjustments.

Using Gate.io’s APIs you can also seamlessly connect any third-party bot to the platform, dramatically expanding your options for automated trading. Why not pair Gate.io with Bitsgap, for instance? With Bitsgap's cutting-edge automated trading bots such as DCA, GRID, and BTD, you'll be trading like a pro in no time!

But wait, sign up for Bitsgap today, and you'll get to experience the full power of a Pro plan with a week-long trial. Love it? Great, extend your plan! Want to experiment a bit more? No problem, switch to Demo mode and test out strategies to your heart's content without risking a single dime of your capital.

Interested? Then let’s see how you can link the two platforms together.

How Do I Connect Gate.io API Keys to Bitsgap?

  • Jump right into your Gate.io account, or if you're new here, set up a new account.
  • Click on your profile icon (you'll find it in the top-right corner), and you're on your way to the "Profile" page. On the left-hand side, you're going to spot the "Sub-accounts and APIs" tab. Give it a click and you're on the "API Management" page.
Pic. 6. Sub-accounts & APIs section on Gate.io
  • Time to hit that [Create API Key] button and bring your new API key to life!
  • Now, let's fine-tune those permissions. See the below picture for what you need. After setting all these permissions, confirm and agree with all the points. You're almost there! Click on that [I Accept] button.
Pic. 7. Permissions.
  • Complete the security verification with your 2FA code and Fund Password.
Pic. 8. Security verification.
  • Congratulations, your Gate.io trading key is born and ready to roll! Make sure you safely store your API key and Secret key before the next step.
  • Log into your Bitsgap account and head over to the [My Exchanges] page. You're about to connect your Gate.io account. Click on [Add Exchange].
  • In the pop-up window, pick Gate.io, then add your freshly made API key and Secret key, and click on [Connect].
Pic. 9. Enter your Gate.io credentials on Bitsgap and hit [Connect].
  • If you've followed all the steps, your Gate.io will show up in your list of connected exchanges with the Connected status and your trading balance ready to go. You did it!

Bottom Line

Gate.io excels as a cryptocurrency trading platform with a robust and feature-rich interface, and excellent support for various digital assets, making it a preferred choice for many crypto traders.

Especially noteworthy are Gate.io's unrivaled copy trading and trading bot functionalities. For those eager to delve into more automated solutions, there's always the possibility to integrate your Gate.io exchange account with an external automated service like Bitsgap. This allows you to access and utilize even more bots and tools beyond what the standard Gate.io interface offers.

However, there are several areas where exchange could improve. Primarily, the provision of a fiat offramp would be beneficial, allowing traders to cash out their profits directly. Currently, traders would have to resort to other exchanges like Binance, Kraken, or Crypto.com for bank account withdrawals.

FAQs

Are There Any Gate.io Trading Bots?

Yes, indeed, the options are plenty, as it happens. The Gate.io Trading Bot section allows you to design your own automatic trading strategies or adopt existing ones. There are literally numerous successful strategies with a history of steady profits available, enabling you to maximize your earnings during both bull and bear market conditions. On the trading interface, you'll find several pre-selected trading options, or you can opt for copy trading to find a specific bot or return on investment percentage. A variety of strategies are available, such as Grid trading for spot and futures markets, Dollar Cost Averaging in the form of Spot Martingale, and Passive Arbitrage Strategies. Furthermore, through the use of Gate.io's APIs, you can integrate a third-party service with Gate.io to take advantage of additional features.