Crypto exchange Gate wants a Bitcoin holder’s next stock purchase to happen without their money leaving its platform. The ambition is to keep more of an investor’s financial life inside one exchange.
Speaking with BeInCrypto at TOKEN2049, Jason Fung, Gate’s head of global partnerships, described how that could change the way people invest.
The business case is becoming clearer. CoinGecko’s latest quarterly report found that spot trading volume at the top ten centralized exchanges fell 14.2% in Q3 2026, despite a recovery in crypto prices. Broader markets give exchanges more opportunities to keep customers trading.
For investors, the question is whether those extra choices make managing money easier.
Why Move Your Money to Buy a Stock?
Fung’s argument starts with where customers already hold their money. Someone with digital assets on an exchange can use that platform to reach overseas stock markets.
“It’s becoming a one-stop shop for anyone who wants to invest,” he said.
Gate introduced Japanese stock trading in August, initially offering around 300 Tokyo-listed stocks. Users can fund trades with USDT, the dollar-linked stablecoin, according to the company.
Gate says it now offers access to more than 12,800 stocks across the US, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan markets combined.
That offers a practical reason to stay: an existing crypto balance can fund a stock investment without first being withdrawn to a bank and sent to a separate broker. Availability still depends on the user’s jurisdiction.
A More Diverse Portfolio or Just More Trades?
“It’s no longer a decision between holding crypto or holding cash,” Fung said.
His example is an investor who follows semiconductors and wants to buy a particular company while keeping Bitcoin for the long term. Access to equities gives that investor somewhere else to put money when their strongest conviction lies outside crypto.
“Diversifying is one part, rotating in and out of narratives you have conviction in is another.”
Those behaviours have different implications. Building a broader portfolio can spread exposure. Chasing each new market theme can increase trading without necessarily reducing risk.
Fung said future data should reveal whether customers diversify more or simply make more trades. He presented both as possibilities, leaving open how far easier access changes the way people manage their money.
How Much Is a Faster Trade Worth?
The same push to shorten the distance between an idea and a trade extends to new blockchains.
Gate announced its Robinhood Chain integration in July and Arc support in September. Fung said integrations across its exchange and Web3 services reduce the steps needed to access those ecosystems.
“You already have funds there, you’re already KYC’d,” he said, referring to identity checks.
For a trader following a new token, fewer setup steps can matter. Fung argues that reacting quickly to information offers an edge.
Speed also brings responsibility back to the trader. Easier access gives them less administrative work; it provides no assurance that the asset deserves their money.
Who Stays When the Rewards Stop?
Fung applies a different test when assessing whether an ecosystem will last.
“The ultimate test is: once all the incentives are gone, who actually stays?”
He looks for users who keep returning and projects that continue attracting builders. He expects networks connecting traditional finance with crypto to have lasting demand.
Recent activity complicates that picture. 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.
That does not establish how long the activity will last. It shows how quickly users can take a network in a different direction from its intended purpose.
“It comes down to real usage and how sustainable an ecosystem is in the long run,” Fung said.
Your Next Trade Could Be an Election
Prediction markets widen the exchange’s reach further, giving people something to trade when they have little conviction about crypto prices.
“You might not have an opinion on what happens to the Bitcoin price in the next 30 days, but you might have a very strong opinion on who wins a certain election, or who wins Formula One,” Fung said.
The appetite is substantial. Barron’s, citing Aldrin Research, reported at least $5.83 billion in prediction-market trading over the opening Saturday and Sunday of this year’s NFL season.
Fung calls prediction markets “a tool for pricing uncertainty.” He also acknowledges that conviction can come from emotion, such as supporting a team.
That makes their informational value worth testing. A traded probability reflects the people willing to bet, whose enthusiasm may exceed their knowledge.
“The bigger question is how accurate prediction markets are over thousands, tens of thousands, one day millions of events.”
The Partnership That Gets Your Money Home
Asked which partnership would most help ordinary traders, Fung returned to banking access.
“The ability to more seamlessly on-ramp and off-ramp in different currencies across the world – that’s more important than an additional trading feature.”
He wants stronger connections with banking partners and compliant stablecoin providers, particularly in emerging markets where local arrangements vary.
The audience matters. Binance Research reported in June that close to 93% of its stock-trading users came from emerging markets. That company-specific finding suggests demand for new routes into overseas equities.
“Parts of this structure already exist, but it’s far from perfect.”
Gate’s own attempt to close that gap is Gate Money, a single account that combines fiat currencies, crypto and stocks with on-ramp/off-ramp transfers, card spending and yield on idle balances, according to the company.
That leaves exchanges with a practical test as they pursue more of their customers’ portfolios. Every additional market offers another reason to keep money on the platform. Users also need confidence about what happens when they want it back.
An exchange’s usefulness extends to the moment a customer needs to spend their investment proceeds in their own currency.
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