Gate.io

Gate.io is one of the oldest crypto-to-crypto exchange from China operating since 2013. After being rebranded to Gate.io in 2017, it is one of the fastest-growing crypto platforms with a leading Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) platform, numerous cryptocurrencies, margin trading with leverage, and other advanced financial services like margin lending or borrowing. Despite having a powerful trading engine, the platform interface feels somewhat cluttered as is generally not the best starting place for inexperienced investors.

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Key Features

• Number of cryptocurrencies. Gate.io is known as an altcoin exchange and for a perfect reason - it contains 180 different coins and nearly 400 different cryptocurrency markets. It does not deal with fiat, though.
• The functionality of the platform. Gate.io is ripe with features - you can trade in cryptocurrency markets, margin trade with 10x leverage, margin lend or borrow funds, participate in period investment plans, invest in IEO’s via its Gate.io Startup platform, perpetual swap contracts and much more.
• Relatively low fees. Like most altcoin exchanges, Gate.io is a low fee service. It’s not the lowest fee service on the market, but there are various discounts. A trade on the platform costs 0.2% of the total order amount.
• Security. Gate.io team is security-savvy - it was rated as one of the top exchanges in terms of cybersecurity by CER. There are multiple ways users can secure their accounts, and the platform has many built-in security mechanisms, too.
• Customer support. Apart from the 24/7 live chat available to all users, it also has an extensive support database which includes a FAQ section as well as New Use Guide. Alternatively, you can submit support tickets for more elaborate concerns.

Visit Gate.io

Gate.io landing page.

Gate.io Exchange Background

Gate.io is one of the oldest Chinese bitcoin exchanges, which was founded in 2013 by Lin Han. Back in 2015, the exchange suffered a 7,000 BTC hack. The coins were stolen from its cold wallets.

Until 2017, the exchange was called Bter.com. However, it was forced to rebrand into Gate.io when the Chinese government has banned fiat-to-crypto trading in 2017. It closed the old domain, dropped fiat cryptocurrency trading pairs, and changed its focus to crypto-to-crypto and Chinese yuan OTC trades.

As of today, Gate.io remains an unregulated crypto exchange in terms of volume and markets liquidity with approx. 3500 BTC volume per day. In the recent news, it’s parent company Gate Technology Inc. raised $64 million in crypto for the upcoming Gatechain decentralized exchange (DEX) project and launched a successful IEO platform Gate.io Startup.

Gate.io Startup IEO platform.

The exchange is not available for the residents and citizens of the following states:

• Washington (U.S.)
• New York (U.S.)
• Cuba
• Iran
• North Korea
• Sudan
• Syria
• Pakistan
• Venezuela
• Crimea

Gate.io Fees

Like most crypto-to-crypto exchanges, Gate.io charges somewhat competitive fees. If you choose to trade on the platform, you will pay no fees for deposits, 0.2% spot and margin trading fee, and a small withdrawal fee which changes per cryptocurrency being withdrawn.

Here’s how Gate.io’s withdrawal fees compare with withdrawal fees charged by its competitors:

As you can see, Gate.io is the cheapest exchange when it comes to individual coins like USDT, ETH or TRX but it is somewhat more expensive for withdrawing XMR, XRP or BTC.

When it comes to taker and maker fees, Gate.io stands on the more expensive end of crypto-to-crypto exchanges. Exchanges like HitBTC, Binance, and KuCoin might be cheaper for trading a large volume of bitcoin and altcoins. However, it is still cheaper than trading on a platform like Bittrex.

Besides, Gate.io rewards its most active traders with useful trading fee discounts. Here is its volume-tiered discount fee schedule for traders who exchange 3 BTC and more worth of cryptocurrency monthly. The discount applies to the standard 0.2% trading fee.

Gate.io trading fee discount tiers.

Aside from the volume-tier discount, Gate.io also offers a Point plan discount for trading fees. You can get 1 USDT trading fee deduction for every point you own. The points can be purchased through the users Gate.io wallet section using USDT tokens.

Gate.io points purchase window.

Different fees apply to Gate.io’s perpetual contract trades. Here, Gate.io incentivizes market making with a negative -0.025% Maker fee (which actually pays you in BTC), and charges a 0.075% Taker fee. The costs can also be covered using Points.

All in all, Gate.io falls under the cheap end compared with all cryptocurrency exchanges. It may not always be the cheapest one, but it constitutes a safe and secure exchange for traders of all walks of life.

Gate.io Security Measures Review

Gate.io log in screen.

Gate.io employs various security tricks to keep the user funds protected. As a user, you can secure your account with:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA) with Google Authenticator.
• SMS 2FA, generally considered rather insecure.
• Login verifications.
• Additional fund withdrawal password.
• Anti-Phishing code.
• Blind IP logins.

Unfortunately, the exchange doesn’t offer Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) protection, which is considered the most secure way to protect against unauthorized access to your account.

Internally, Gate.io safeguards user funds by utilizing both hot and cold wallets along with other secret security practices. It is known that higher deposit accounts must go through a more extensive customer verification procedure (KYC & KYC2) to get their withdrawals processed immediately.

Despite the required KYC verification, Gate.io is still an unregulated exchannge and its legal status nor obligations for customers are still unclear. It is also worth knowing that although Gate.io has no history of hacks, it’s also not spotless. It’s predecessor platform Bter.com lost approximately 7,000 BTC in a hacking incident in 2015.

Despite that, Gate.io had learned a lot of valuable lessons from it and currently ranks as the second most secure exchange on the market according to CER’s top 100 exchanges by the cybersecurity score.

Gate.io trading screen.

Design & Usability

Simplicity and ease of use for its customers are vital for such a multifaceted exchange like Gate.io. For this reason, the platform uses an interface similar to that of its prime competitors - Binance, KuCoin, and others.

It is relatively easy to navigate different sections of the site, even though the variety of features can be quite overwhelming at first. You can go directly to cryptocurrency markets, margin trading, lending, and borrowing, perpetual contracts trading, financial services, IEO platform or wallets overview right from the main menu.

The markets are rather easy to find using the search function or navigating through the main menu. Switching from market to market is straightforward, too, as you can do so by simply scrolling the markets tab on the left side of the screen.

Consequentially, you will find the trading charts in the middle of the screen. The platform lets you choose from simple and professional (TradingView) chart’s view. The right side of the screen is reserved for the order books, while the bottom of the screen is dedicated for placing orders. Apart from the regular orders, you can also place Iceberg and Immediate-or-Cancel (IOC) orders.

Nevertheless, the overall impression of Gate.io trading is somewhat messy and cluttered. It seems like too many things are going on at once, and the customization options for the windows are somewhat limited.

On the positive note, you can choose from three different night modes for the background. Also, the Gate.io Startup IEO platform is a top-notch operation which lets you quickly invest in the hottest cryptocurrency projects. In fact, Gate.io Startup is the most profitable IEO platform of 2019 (as of August 2019) and has conducted eight IEO’s. The average ROI per IEO at Gate.io is more than 300 percent. It also makes it super easy to participate in the IEO’s for everyone, since there are no extra requirements for the investors apart from the basic KYC check.

Starting traders can also train in the Gate.io’s perpetual contract’s testnet before trading for the real money. If you encounter trouble at Gate.io, the customer support live chat is always there for you. Alternatively, you can submit a ticket or browse the extensive Support Center (under Help in the main menu) to learn everything about Gate.io features and procedures.

If you’re a fan of trading on the go, you may also check out Gate.io mobile applications. They are available for Android and iOS smartphones.

In sum, Gate.io’s design is rather standard, and in some places, it gets too cluttered, but that shouldn’t be an issue for non-first time traders and visitors.

Visit Gate.io

Gate.io financial services.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods at Gate.io

First and foremost, Gate.io doesn’t accept fiat deposits. If you want to trade, you first have to transfer your cryptocurrency to the exchange. Considering its wide range of supported cryptocurrencies, it shouldn’t be a difficult task for seasoned crypto market players, but beginners might be in trouble.

Although deposits are free, you will pay a withdrawal fee, which is different for every coin. Traders should also be aware of the withdrawal limits imposed by Gate.io. For example, you can withdraw max. 100 BTC per day. However, it is possible to raise the limit if you submit all the required KYC documents and email the support asking for higher withdrawal limits.

As it is the case with most pure cryptocurrency exchanges, your withdrawals are processed immediately, and duration generally depends on the speed of the blockchain. The same goes for deposits.

Gate.io markets.

Conclusion

All in all, Gate.io is an excellent altcoin exchange for more experienced crypto market traders. Apart from the variety of altcoins, it also lures investors with its lucrative 10x margin trading, perpetual contracts, best in class IEO platform and even financial services like Margin Lending, Borrowing or Periodic Investment Plans. It may be just too much to digest for the market beginners, but everyone else could find what they were looking for at the Gate.io exchange.

How To Start Trading at Gate.io?

Go directly to the Gate.io exchange and hit the “Sign Up” button.

 Sign Up

Fill in your details in the sign-up form. Don’t forget to write down your Password (will be used to log in) and Fund password (will be used to withdraw funds). Once done, hit the “Create account” button at the bottom of the form.

Next, you will be asked to confirm your email. Visit the inbox of the email you specified in the form to confirm it.

Here you go, you’ve just opened a Gate.io account. For the full use of the account, you will still need to confirm your identity (KYC). Head to your account settings to do so.

Also, don’t forget to set up two-factor authentication (preferably with Google Auth) to protect your account before you make a deposit. Safety first!