Gate officially launches TradeFi trading feature: a key step in integrating traditional and crypto finance?

Gate has recently expanded its TradeFi features, allowing users to trade traditional financial assets such as gold, forex, stock indices, and commodities through Contract for Difference (CFD) trading. In the existing Gate App, users can already trade over 4,300 cryptocurrencies.

This move marks the beginning of a multi-asset trading framework that extends beyond cryptocurrencies for the platform, which has 12 years of industry experience and over 48 million users.

01 Industry Trends: From Isolation to Integration in the Financial World

The traditional financial markets’ interest in cryptocurrencies is driven by straightforward economic logic. In recent years, the crypto market has formed a parallel financial ecosystem with its own liquidity, derivatives, and settlement infrastructure.

For traditional exchanges, ignoring this sector means losing market share and fee revenue. More importantly, it also means losing control over how investors access financial instruments.

02 Technical Architecture and Core Mechanisms of Gate TradeFi

The technical implementation of Gate TradeFi clearly demonstrates how the platform introduces mature rules from traditional financial markets into the crypto trading environment.

This feature is built on the mature MT5 (MetaTrader 5) trading system, with user account data and trading records synchronized between the Gate App and the MT5 client.

Compared to traditional crypto contracts, TradeFi products have several notable features. All contracts use USDx as the margin and account display unit. USDx is neither a fiat currency nor a cryptocurrency; it is an internal accounting unit designed specifically for TradeFi assets, pegged 1:1 to USDT.

In terms of trading mechanics, TradeFi products follow conventions of traditional financial markets, including fixed trading hours and market close times. Leverage is set at a fixed level, and users cannot manually adjust it.

Gate’s platform advantages enable it to offer this service at highly competitive rates. The platform charges a commission starting from $0.018 per trade, offers up to 500x leverage on major forex and index products, and supports up to 5x leverage on stock CFDs.

03 Strategic Value to the Gate Ecosystem

The launch of TradeFi features holds strategic significance for Gate on multiple levels. It directly broadens the platform’s product matrix, providing users with more diversified asset allocation options.

Founded in 2013, Gate is an established exchange currently offering over 4,300 cryptocurrencies for trading. The platform has over 48 million users, with reserves covering more than 200 digital assets and over $9.478 billion in excess reserves.

By introducing traditional financial assets, Gate is building a more comprehensive multi-asset trading framework. Users can manage positions in both cryptocurrencies and traditional financial assets on the same platform, simplifying cross-asset decision-making and risk management processes.

From a user acquisition and retention perspective, the TradeFi feature may attract traders who invest in both cryptocurrencies and traditional financial markets. These could include professional traders, institutional investors, or retail investors seeking portfolio diversification.

04 Far-Reaching Impact on the Crypto Industry

The launch of Gate TradeFi could be a pivotal turning point in the development of the crypto industry, signaling that crypto platforms are beginning to adopt more mature financial market rules for product design and risk management.

The connection between crypto markets and mainstream financial markets will become closer. As more crypto trading platforms integrate traditional financial instruments, liquidity transfer mechanisms between the two markets will strengthen, and price discovery will become more efficient.

Regulatory-wise, this move by Gate aligns with global regulators’ expectations for further integration of the crypto industry with traditional finance. Converting some crypto activities into traditional exchange formats could allow the application of familiar regulatory tools.

In terms of market structure, as more platforms like Gate introduce similar features, the structure of the crypto market may undergo fundamental changes. The boundaries between traditional crypto exchanges and emerging multi-asset platforms will gradually blur, reshaping industry competition.

05 Practical Guide and Opportunities for Traders

The Gate TradeFi feature provides crypto traders with a new way to access traditional financial markets. Before trading, understanding a few core aspects is crucial.

First, from a risk management perspective, Gate employs a margin-based liquidation mechanism. When the account margin ratio drops to 50% or below, the system will initiate forced liquidation.

Recently, Gate launched a TradeFi promotion. Eligible users who register can receive up to 110 USDT in trial rewards, and after completing qualifying trades, can unlock additional phased incentives of up to 3,000 USDT.

Funding rates and overnight financing fees are costs that traders need to pay special attention to in TradeFi trading. Unlike traditional crypto perpetual contracts, TradeFi products incorporate overnight financing fees in trading.

This reflects differences in pricing mechanisms between traditional financial markets and crypto markets. Prices of traditional financial assets are more influenced by macroeconomic factors, while cryptocurrencies are more susceptible to industry narratives and sentiment.

06 Future Outlook: Challenges and Opportunities on the Path to Integration

Looking ahead, the introduction of TradeFi by Gate may signal the start of a new trend. As the boundaries between crypto markets and traditional financial markets become increasingly blurred, demand for multi-asset and cross-market trading is expected to grow further.

In this context, crypto trading platforms will face new challenges and opportunities. They need to balance innovation with risk management, developing products that meet user needs without introducing excessive risks.

Technological integration will also be a key challenge. Ensuring seamless trading experiences across different asset classes, unified account management, and consistent risk controls requires robust technical infrastructure.

Regulatory requirements will become more complex. As platforms venture into more traditional financial sectors, they will face more diverse regulatory demands and will need to adapt their products and services according to different jurisdictions.

Future Outlook

With the official launch of Gate’s TradeFi features, this 12-year-old exchange has taken an important step beyond the crypto trading ecosystem. Users can now seamlessly switch between over 4,300 cryptocurrencies and major traditional financial assets.

When the user account interface displays both Bitcoin prices and gold CFD positions simultaneously, the boundaries between crypto and traditional finance have effectively disappeared.