Gate is repositioning itself around a broader consumer-finance push with the launch of Gate Money, a new app that lets users hold and convert cash, cryptocurrencies, stocks, gold and other assets in a single account, then spend from those holdings with a card.
Speaking to CoinDesk before the app’s unveiling in Singapore, Gate founder Lin Han said the company is trying to reach mainstream consumers rather than remain focused on a narrow base of experienced traders. He said Asia could be the biggest market for the service.
“We don’t want to stay with a small group of people who are professional at trading,” Han said. “We want to provide this product to a wider range of customers.” He added that crypto firms now need to bring in non-crypto users because that is where the largest growth opportunity sits.
Gate joins the race to build broader finance apps
The launch puts Gate alongside a growing list of exchanges trying to become all-in-one finance platforms. Coinbase, Binance, Bybit and Robinhood have all been expanding beyond digital-asset trading.
Han said Gate is betting that “everything” exchanges will become the future model for crypto companies. In his view, all-in-one money apps will rank among the biggest consumer trends over the coming year.
Gate, which is headquartered in the Cayman Islands, said it has more than 60 million users and $2 billion in 24-hour trading volume. It is entering a broader contest to turn trading accounts into consumer-finance apps. Coinbase has expanded into investing, derivatives and banking. Bybit is building a European super app. Robinhood’s U.K. product already combines crypto with stocks, ISAs, options and futures. Binance said in July that it was betting on becoming a crypto super app.
Making crypto part of an everyday money account
The company’s pitch is to make crypto one feature inside a daily money account, rather than something used mainly by traders.
Han said Gate Money will allow users to keep and convert cash, cryptocurrencies, stocks, gold and other assets in one place, then spend directly from those holdings through a card.
He also said the company intends to let users convert between holdings at any time, including outside normal stock-market hours. He did not explain how those conversions would be priced or executed when the underlying markets are closed.
Spending assets without first holding cash
Han made a more ambitious claim about how the product could work in practice: users would be able to spend assets without first keeping cash in their accounts. “You can buy a cup of coffee with Nvidia stock,” he said. “You cannot do that with any app in the world right now.”
He said Asia may be the largest market for the service because many people in the region want access to U.S. stocks but face restricted access to international brokerage accounts.
Competition goes beyond banks and exchanges
Han said Gate sees money apps such as Revolut, Cash App and Wise as more immediate competitors than traditional banks. At the same time, he said other exchanges building similar products are also part of the competitive field.
According to Han, crypto firms now have the technology, licensing and banking relationships needed to offer services that were once largely controlled by banks and brokers.