Gate.io Reviews 2025: Fees, Features, Safety, Pro & Cons

Gate.io is an unregulated global cryptocurrency trading platform that offers users a staggering amount of altcoins. The exchange offers various features, including leveraged tokens, futures trading, and derivatives products.

Gate.io is among the top 25 exchanges, according to CoinMarketCap.com, but its exchange rating is only 5.8. The platform consistently ranks high on various best exchange lists due to its plethora of services and the high number of altcoins it offers.

In this Gate.io review, we’ll take a closer look at the platform, weighing the pros and cons to help you decide if it’s the right option for you. 

Pros & Cons of Gate.io

Pros

• Low trading fees start at 0.2% per trade.
• Free BTC, ETH, and USD trading pairs.
• The crypto exchange offers over 1,400 digital assets for spot trading.
• High trading volume 
• Professional crypto trading tools and features
• The cryptocurrency exchange offers futures and margin trading. 
• The platform offers trading bots and copy trading services.
• The platform offers staking and lending opportunities to earn interest.

Cons

• Gate.io isn’t available in the US.
• The exchange interface can be overwhelming for beginners
• It’s an unregulated platform.
• Controversies regarding proof of funds.
• English language support can be glitchy at times.

About Gate.io

Gate.io was launched in China in 2013 under the name Bter.com. Originally a Bitcoin market, it became a popular digital asset trading platform within years. In 2017, the exchange was rebranded as Gate.io and launched its international platform in 2018.

Like many other China-based exchanges, Gate.io moved its operations to off-shore islands once the Chinese government banned cryptocurrencies and stopped serving users in mainland China.

The company announced it would close all North American user accounts in 2022, and users should remove their funds from the platform. As of 2022, US and Canada-based users can’t trade on the exchange.

The company offers a wide range of services, including spot trading, derivatives trading, and crypto lending. 

Crypto Coins Available on Gate.io

Gate.io is known for offering a very large list of supported coins and tokens. It’s an altcoin trader’s heaven, supporting over 1,400 digital assets and 2,000 trading pairs, though some digital assets may not be available to customers from certain jurisdictions.

Gate.io offers a wide range of digital assets, including popular coins such as:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Tether (USDT)
• Binance Coin (BNB)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Cardano (ADA)
• Polygon (MATIC)

The exchange also has a native Gate token (GT). Users can receive fee discounts based on their GT holdings. 

Fiat Currencies Supported on Gate.io

Gate.io has started accepting fiat currency, but the platform depends on third-party payment providers for the service. You can deposit over 15 different national currencies to the platform, including USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, TRY, and AUD.

The exchange also offers a P2P trading platform where you can deposit even more local currencies via bank transfers. You can also purchase cryptocurrencies with debit and credit cards. 

However, since you have to use third-party providers, depositing fiat money to the exchange can be quite expensive. The fees vary but are consistently higher than those offered by competitors like Binance or Coinbase. 

Beware that platform may not show you how much your fiat deposit fee is when you’re starting the operation, or it may simply list it as zero. However, that is only true for the fees the platform charges for your deposit. Third-party providers charge separate fees, and you have to check their website to get a clear picture.

Also, while you can deposit funds to the platform, beware that you can’t withdraw fiat from the platform.

You must complete KYC verification to deposit and withdraw fiat and cryptocurrency to the platform. Third-party payment providers also require you to comply with KYC verification.

Countries Supported on Gate.io

Gate.io is available in over 50 countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Ukraine, and many others. 

The platform isn’t available to US, Canada, Malta, and Singapore users.

Additionally, users based in Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Lithuania are only allowed to use the spot trading feature and are prohibited from using the other services the exchange offers.

For a more comprehensive look at the rules and restricted countries, you can check out the Gate.io user agreement.

Gate.io Trading Fees

Many cryptocurrency exchanges introduced zero-fee trading for certain assets and markets during the crypto winter of 2022, Gate.io among them.

While we don’t know how long the zero-fee schedule will last, it’s nonetheless a nice perk. Users can trade all BTC, ETH, and USD pairs and BTC/USDT for free on the spot market without paying trade fees.

All leveraged token markets, P2P trades, delivery futures markets, and BTC-M and USD-M perpetual futures are also free to trade.

Normally, Gate.io offers a tired maker/taker fee schedule. Users can move up in tiers based on their 30-day trading volumes or Gate Token holdings. You receive fee discounts as you move up the tiers.

Trading fees start at 0.20% at the lowest tier. 

Crypto deposits to the platform are free, but as we said before, fiat deposits cost quite a lot due to third-party payment provider fees.

Withdrawal fees for coins vary depending on the asset and market conditions.

Main Features of the Gate.io Platform

Spot Trading

Gate.io offers a huge spot market for users. You can trade over 2,000 pairs and buy several micro-cap coins on the exchange.

Margin Trading

You can margin trade Bitcoin and Ethereum with up to 10x leverage on the platform. Many other cryptocurrencies are also available for margin trading, starting at x3 leverage.

Margin trading is more suitable for advanced traders since it involves higher risks.

Perpetual Contracts Trading

A perpetual contract is a crypto futures contract with no expiry date. You can trade BTC -M and USD -M contracts on the exchange. The exchange is offering zero-fee perpetual contracts trading for all pairs as of November 2022, but it’s a good idea to check as price policies may change.

Derivatives trading is more suitable for experienced traders as it involves higher risks.

Lending and Borrowing

You can join the platform’s lend-and-earn program anytime to earn interest on your crypto holdings. Interest rates are calculated hourly based on market demands, providing flexible conditions for lenders.

How Easy Is It to Open a Gate.io Account?

Opening an account on Gate.io is pretty simple. All you need to do is head over to their website and sign up with your email address. Once you have registered and logged in, you will be able to begin trading immediately.

One thing to note is that Gate.io does require its users to go through a KYC (Know Your Customer) process before withdrawing any funds. This process is pretty standard for most cryptocurrency exchanges these days.

There are two levels of KYC verification on the platform. You have to complete the first KYC in order to be able to withdraw funds at all. It’s a good idea to complete KYC as soon as you sign up since KYC approval may take up to 12 hours.

The exchange may require you to complete a secondary KYC to make a withdrawal. If you receive a “KYC necessary” warning when you’re trying to withdraw funds, go to your account details and complete the additional KYC verification.

How Secure Is Gate.io?

If there is one thing we know about crypto exchanges, it’s that security is paramount but almost never guaranteed. The crypto industry is quite new, mostly unregulated, and generally not very transparent, as we know from various examples, including the recent collapse of FTX.

All these factors make it hard to gauge how secure any exchange really is. However, older, more reputable crypto platforms have the advantage of longevity on their sides. 

Gate.io has been operating for quite a long time, and the exchange has managed to stay upright during the last decade. The platform employs all industry-standard security practices, including data encryption and two-factor authentication via SMS and Google.

Gate.io uses a self-developed trading system encompassing third-party cloud security defense services, an anti-DDOS attack system, an encrypted transport layer, DNS Security, a WAF protection system, an internal protection protocol, and access restriction controls.

Gate.io also offers a number of safety features. Users can password-protect their funds and whitelist withdrawal addresses.

However, the exchange has been accused of covering up important security breaches. Most recently, the platform received criticism due to a funds transfer with Crypto.com, with critics accusing both platforms of inflating their reserves before publishing their proof-of-reserve audits. 

It isn’t clear whether these statements reflect the truth, but crypto investors should do their due diligence and inform themselves about possible issues.

Also, remember that it’s an unregulated exchange based in the Cayman Islands and isn’t audited by state authorities.

Has Gate.io Ever Been Hacked?

Gate.io had a reputation for evading hacking attempts, but the truth might be a bit more complex. The platform was hacked in 2015, when it was still known as Bter, and lost over 7,500 BTC.

The exchange security was also breached in 2018, but the platform announced no user funds were removed. It has been argued that the exchange covered up a $230 million loss, but the issue hasn’t been settled yet. 

In October 2022, the Gate.io official Twitter account was hacked and used to manipulate users to connect their wallets to a fake website where their accounts would be drained. 

Is Gate.io a Regulated Exchange?

No. Gate.io is an unregulated exchange based in the Cayman Islands. Users from many jurisdictions, including the US and Canada, can’t use the exchange.

How Does Gate.io Compare to Other Crypto Exchanges?

Let’s see how Gate.io compares to other unregulated global exchanges like Binance and HTX. 

Fees

Gate.io has a competitive fee structure. It has been offering free BTC, ETH, and USD trades on the spot market and free futures contracts. 

Normally, It charges a 0.2% trading fee for spot trades which is the same as what HTX, one of its main competitors, offers.

However, Binance offers lower trading fees starting at 0.10% and free BTC, ETH, and stablecoin trades as well.

However, one disadvantage is Gate.io’s fiat deposit fees. You can only deposit fiat to the platform via third-party operators that charge expensive fees. If you would like to purchase coins with fiat, Binance is a better option.

Features

Gate.io offer over 1400 cryptocurrencies and over 2000 trading pairs. It’s almost unbeatable when it comes to the diversity of assets on sale.

HTX offers around 600 cryptocurrencies and 1000 trading pairs. Binance Global, on the other hand, offers around 350 digital assets for trading.

All three platforms offer derivatives products, so the decision mostly comes down to the number of altcoins they offer. 

Does Gate.io Have an App?

Yes, Gate.io has an app available for iOS and Android devices. The app allows users to trade cryptocurrencies, check prices, and manage their accounts.

Gate.io Review: Final Thoughts

Gate.io offers many features for experienced crypto investors. The platform boasts professional trading tools, several markets, derivatives products, earning opportunities, and a mobile app.

The fee schedule is very competitive, especially for BTC, ETH, and USD trading pairs. The transaction fee for altcoin pairings starts at 0.2%. 

The biggest draw of the platform is its variety of coin offerings. You can buy and trade over 1400 digital assets on the exchange.

One thing to note about Gate.io is that fiat purchases and fiat deposits cost a pretty penny on the platform. If you want to trade with fiat, this may not be the most profitable exchange. 

However, it does offer a wide variety of cryptocurrency pairs, including some less common ones that you might not find on other exchanges.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Gate.io requires level 2 verification for withdrawals, so if you’re looking to move your funds out of the exchange quickly, this could be a bit of a hassle. However, the extra security is likely a good thing for many users.

The exchange is unregulated and unavailable to users from Canada and US. European customers may not be able to trade derivatives on the platform.

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