Key Takeaways
- • Gate, a crypto exchange, is pursuing a strategy to keep customers' assets on its platform by letting them buy overseas stocks with existing crypto balances, according to Jason Fung, Gate's head of global partnerships, speaking to BeInCrypto at TOKEN2049.
- • Gate says it now offers access to more than 12,800 stocks across the US, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, and users can fund trades with the USDT stablecoin, though availability depends on jurisdiction.
- • CoinGecko's quarterly report found spot trading volume at the top ten centralized exchanges fell 14.2% in Q3 2026, despite a recovery in crypto prices, which is driving exchanges to diversify into equities and prediction markets.
- • CoinGecko reported Robinhood Chain generated more than $88.9 billion in trading volume after its July launch through Q3, with memecoin trading overtaking its original tokenized-asset ambitions, raising questions about sustainability.
- • Barron's, citing Aldrin Research, reported at least $5.83 billion in prediction-market trading over the opening weekend of the 2026 NFL season, a figure Fung cites as evidence of appetite for event-based trading.
Summary
Gate is seeking to keep more of its customers' financial activity inside a single exchange. Speaking with BeInCrypto at TOKEN2049, Jason Fung, Gate's head of global partnerships, said the company wants a Bitcoin holder's next stock purchase to occur without funds leaving the platform. The strategy comes against a weak backdrop for centralized exchanges: CoinGecko's latest quarterly report found spot trading volume at the top ten centralized exchanges fell 14.2% in Q3 2026, despite a recovery in crypto prices.
Gate introduced Japanese stock trading in August, initially offering around 300 Tokyo-listed stocks, and says it now provides access to more than 12,800 stocks across the US, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan markets combined. According to the company, users can fund trades with USDT, a dollar-linked stablecoin. Fung argues that an existing crypto balance can fund an equity investment without first being withdrawn to a bank and sent to a separate broker, though availability still depends on the user's jurisdiction.
Fung framed the offering as enabling diversification, citing an investor who wants to buy semiconductor stocks while holding Bitcoin long term. He also acknowledged that easier access could instead drive more frequent trading, "rotating in and out of narratives." He said future data should show which behaviour dominates. Gate has also announced integrations with Robinhood Chain in July and Arc support in September, which Fung says reduce the steps needed to access those ecosystems.
On the sustainability of networks, Fung said the key test is whether users remain once incentives end. CoinGecko reported that Robinhood Chain generated more than $88.9 billion in trading volume after its July launch through Q3, with memecoin trading overtaking its original tokenized-asset ambitions. Fung also highlighted prediction markets as a product that gives users something to trade without a strong view on crypto prices. Barron's, citing Aldrin Research, reported at least $5.83 billion in prediction-market trading over the opening weekend of this year's NFL season. Fung described prediction markets as "a tool for pricing uncertainty," though the piece notes traded probabilities may reflect enthusiasm rather than knowledge.
Fung named banking access as the partnership most important to ordinary traders, emphasizing on- and off-ramps across currencies. He pointed to banking partners and compliant stablecoin providers, particularly in emerging markets. Binance Research reported in June that close to 93% of its stock-trading users came from emerging markets. Gate's proposed answer is Gate Money, a single account combining fiat, crypto and stocks with on-ramp/off-ramp transfers, card spending and yield on idle balances, according to the company.
Gate introduced Japanese stock trading in August, initially offering around 300 Tokyo-listed stocks, and says it now provides access to more than 12,800 stocks across the US, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan markets combined. According to the company, users can fund trades with USDT, a dollar-linked stablecoin. Fung argues that an existing crypto balance can fund an equity investment without first being withdrawn to a bank and sent to a separate broker, though availability still depends on the user's jurisdiction.
Fung framed the offering as enabling diversification, citing an investor who wants to buy semiconductor stocks while holding Bitcoin long term. He also acknowledged that easier access could instead drive more frequent trading, "rotating in and out of narratives." He said future data should show which behaviour dominates. Gate has also announced integrations with Robinhood Chain in July and Arc support in September, which Fung says reduce the steps needed to access those ecosystems.
On the sustainability of networks, Fung said the key test is whether users remain once incentives end. CoinGecko reported that Robinhood Chain generated more than $88.9 billion in trading volume after its July launch through Q3, with memecoin trading overtaking its original tokenized-asset ambitions. Fung also highlighted prediction markets as a product that gives users something to trade without a strong view on crypto prices. Barron's, citing Aldrin Research, reported at least $5.83 billion in prediction-market trading over the opening weekend of this year's NFL season. Fung described prediction markets as "a tool for pricing uncertainty," though the piece notes traded probabilities may reflect enthusiasm rather than knowledge.
Fung named banking access as the partnership most important to ordinary traders, emphasizing on- and off-ramps across currencies. He pointed to banking partners and compliant stablecoin providers, particularly in emerging markets. Binance Research reported in June that close to 93% of its stock-trading users came from emerging markets. Gate's proposed answer is Gate Money, a single account combining fiat, crypto and stocks with on-ramp/off-ramp transfers, card spending and yield on idle balances, according to the company.
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