Odaily Interview with Gate Founder Dr. Han: From TradFi Integration to Intelligent Web3, Redefining the Boundaries of Exchanges

Author｜Golem (@web3_傀儡)

Recently, narratives like AI and robotics continue to surge ahead, while the 加密貨幣 industry still appears restrained and introspective. Beyond the noise, the market might be waiting for new structural variables.

Odaily had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Han, Founder and CEO of Gate. We engaged in a systematic dialogue covering topics such as the current state of the 加密貨幣 market, stock tokenization and RWA, Gate’s compliance landscape, and future development. As a front-line entrepreneur who has been deeply involved in the industry since 2013, Dr. Han offered unique insights ranging from cycle assessment and product evolution to global compliance strategy.

For clarity, Odaily has summarized the interview Q&A as follows, enjoy~

All in Web3 and Intelligent Web3

歐日報： In 2025, Bitcoin’s annual gains underperformed compared to commodities like gold and silver; meanwhile, capital and markets are enthusiastically chasing tech industries like AI and robotics, with new developments happening daily. In contrast, the crypto industry seems to be experiencing a slowdown in innovation. How do you view this phenomenon of “external excitement versus internal quietness” in the crypto space today?

Dr. Han: Gold has been in a bull cycle over the past year, repeatedly hitting new highs. During this period, the crypto space has been relatively in a bear cycle. But every industry has its own cyclicality; I think this is quite normal, and the crypto community shouldn’t be overly discouraged by it.

The excitement in the tech field is still centered around AI. The popularity of AI has driven many industries, such as energy, chips, software, and even infrastructure construction like communication bandwidth. On the surface, it seems like everyone is chasing AI, and the crypto industry has become quiet. But in fact, the development of AI is not bad for the crypto industry; on the contrary, it will be a great help.

歐日報： So, how does Gate integrate its business areas with AI?

Dr. Han: For us, there are mainly two levels. One level is that AI can help us provide services to the outside world faster, including front-end development and design work, most of which are now assisted or replaced by AI, significantly improving company efficiency. Although there is still a lot of core logic in the backend that requires human effort, I think it will soon be replaced as well.

That’s from the perspective of helping our company. The other level is helping users. For example, in the customer service system, where AI first made an impact, because users have all kinds of questions, it’s difficult for human agents to know everything due to limited knowledge. But AI is very capable in this area. It can provide excellent answers to users and even help them calculate positions, with extremely high efficiency.

Now, AI’s role is no longer limited to customer service; its influence can also be seen at the product level. The next step might be that in the future, we might not even need a product interface, just an AI dialog box, letting AI solve all problems for users.

歐日報： Gate proposed the “All in Web3” strategic development framework in 2025. Based on this strategy, what achievements have been made?

Dr. Han: We proposed the “All in Web3” strategy last year, mainly based on observing user behavior trends: more and more users are migrating from centralized trading platforms to the Web3 space.

But in fact, we had already started laying out Web3-related businesses as early as 2020. However, when promoting Web3 services back then, we found users still had difficulty truly integrating into and using decentralized platforms. Many users would leave quickly after participating in mining, making it hard to form genuine user retention. Also, the underlying infrastructure was not mature at the time, limiting the improvement of user experience.

It wasn’t until last year that we reassessed the market environment and believed Web3 infrastructure had become relatively mature. Web3 wallets had significantly improved in terms of asset protection, mnemonic backup mechanisms, etc., on-chain liquidity had become increasingly abundant, and the variety of assets within the ecosystem had diversified. Therefore, we believed it was the right time to push the Web3 platform again.

The biggest achievement Gate made in the past year was building a user-friendly, easy-to-use Web3 infrastructure for users, with Gate Wallet being an important manifestation of this result.

歐日報： Can you elaborate more on the “Intelligent Web3” concept previously proposed by Gate? How can ordinary users understand Intelligent Web3?

Dr. Han: We proposed the “Intelligent Web3” concept mainly based on a significant change currently happening in the industry.

Right now, the entire crypto industry is in a stage of information explosion, with a large number of new tokens and new products emerging daily. New users find it hard to understand each project, and even seasoned users get headaches facing the massive amount of information. For example, trading Memecoins in Web3, tens of thousands of new tokens might be born every day, and you also need to track Twitter discussions, analyze popularity, observe holder data, etc. It’s basically impossible to do this manually.

So after thinking, we believe AI can help users solve this problem. Intelligent Web3 is about letting AI Agents handle complex transactions on the blockchain for users—users tell the AI what they want to do using natural language, and the AI will understand and execute various strategies and intentions for the user.

Although it sounds simple, actual implementation is far more complex than imagined. The hardest part is trust authorization. The AI acts as the user’s agent, but there is no inherent trust relationship between it and the user. How to ensure that when users entrust assets to the AI for operation, their assets won’t be unnecessarily damaged? This requires a complete set of protocols to support it.

The core logic of Intelligent Web3 is that the user’s stated intent to the AI needs to be confirmed via signature, but authorization must have clear scope limits. After the AI completes a task, there also needs to be a verification mechanism to ensure the execution result is trustworthy.

Observations on the Crypto Industry in 2026

歐日報： Prediction markets are one of the few crypto industry sectors in 2025-2026 that are “favored by capital + breaking out of the circle.” How do you view the popularity of prediction markets?

Dr. Han: Prediction markets have developed rapidly in the past two years. Firstly, they can price a large number of uncertain events, predicting the probability of certain future outcomes. Secondly, their settlement efficiency is very high, which in turn incentivizes more people to participate. I believe prediction markets are not a zero-sum game; they cannot be equated with the gambling industry. They still hold significant positive value for society. For example, for future uncertain events, when we know the probability of various outcomes in advance through prediction markets, we can make many targeted preparations ahead of time.

歐日報： So, in 2026, which other niche sectors and directions in the crypto field do you think are worth watching?

Dr. Han: The first is payments. This sector has also grown rapidly in the past year because blockchain can indeed solve pain points in the traditional payment industry, such as transfer costs and time. Based on these advantages, the scale of crypto payments will become larger in the future. The second is RWA. Currently, traditional assets like gold, crude oil, US stocks, etc., are entering the crypto industry through tokenization. The crypto community does not reject high-quality assets. After RWA opens up trading channels, many investors will come to participate in trading. The third is DEX. We have observed from data that compared to centralized exchanges, more and more users now prefer using DEXs for trading. Therefore, for Gate, we will also focus on advancing in this direction in the future.

Building a “Two-Way Integration” Ecosystem for TradFi and Crypto Business

歐日報： Traditional exchanges like the NYSE and Nasdaq have announced plans to launch stock tokenization and crypto token trading. Will they erode the business of crypto exchanges in the future? How will Gate respond to such competitive impact?

Dr. Han: I don’t think there is an impact; on the contrary, this is the best promotion for the crypto industry. When they bridge traditional finance and the crypto industry, it will also bring us more users. For example, when the Bitcoin spot ETF was approved, the market also thought users would buy ETFs instead of coming to exchanges to buy real Bitcoin, but obviously that didn’t happen. 交換 trading volumes have still been growing in recent years.

As for stock tokenization, it won’t bring many incremental users for traditional exchanges like the NYSE and Nasdaq. But when this channel is opened, we also have the opportunity to add this trading variety, allowing crypto users to better trade traditional assets, which is a very significant positive for us.

We also hope to introduce tokenized stocks to the crypto market because, in the current crypto market, Bitcoin drives the altcoin market to rise and fall together. So when the market is not doing well, there is no trading enthusiasm, and there are no other choices. But when tokenized gold and stocks enter the crypto market, they provide users with more asset allocation options.

歐日報： Gate itself is also developing TradFi business. How does Gate position this business? Is it aimed at synergizing with the core crypto business to build a “two-way integration” ecosystem, transforming into a more comprehensive moat? How has its performance been since launch?

Dr. Han: When doing TradFi, our idea is simple: not to compete with traditional finance for business, but to combine it with our crypto business to form a mutually supportive ecosystem. For us, the TradFi business is an extension and supplement. It helps us better establish connections with traditional finance and also allows crypto users to access more traditional financial tools. We hope that through this two-way integration, the barriers between traditional and crypto will gradually disappear.

We officially launched the TradFi business in mid-January this year, and it’s been just over a month now. The total trading volume has already exceeded $95 billion. Currently, the platform supports 144 trading categories, covering assets like metals, stocks, indices, forex, and commodities. Honestly, this growth rate has exceeded our expectations, indicating that users indeed have a demand for more diversified investment portfolios.

Challenges Facing Gate

歐日報： Gate experienced rapid growth in spot and derivatives in 2025, with users surpassing 50 million. Under such fast-paced growth, what challenges have you and the team encountered?

Dr. Han: In my view, the biggest challenge we currently face lies in the transformation and adaptation of employees’ working methods. Gate has always adopted a fully remote work model. This approach brings significant flexibility advantages: talent recruitment is not limited by geography, management is not constrained by fixed time and space, and employees can arrange work according to their personal rhythm.

But remote work also places new demands on the organization and individuals. One reality is that not everyone can quickly adapt to this highly autonomous way of working. When new employees join, they often need time to integrate into collaboration and complete the transition from traditional office models to remote collaboration concepts. Correspondingly, the company also needs to explore management systems suitable for this new type of organization.

In the current social context, enterprises require more independent and self-managing individuals. This trend exists not only in the blockchain industry but is also significant in the AI field. With the development of AI technology, many repetitive, process-oriented jobs are gradually being replaced. Human value will be increasingly reflected in proactive thinking and independent planning.

We are at a critical stage of this organizational transformation. How to help the team adapt to this change and build a more efficient remote collaboration culture is a challenge we will need to continuously face in the future.

歐日報： Last year, Gate sparked widespread discussion due to personnel adjustments. What are your thoughts and ideas on internal management?

Dr. Han: From our perspective, this was actually a very normal internal personnel adjustment, but due to information asymmetry, there was some over-interpretation.

Gate’s employee count has been increasing over the past few years, thanks to the overall favorable market conditions and Gate’s rapid business development. Platform users have increased, and demands have grown. Therefore, whether it’s product experience or service response, we must accelerate our pace to meet these user needs. So teams like marketing, BD, and branding have basically maintained efficient operation.

Such a fast pace is not uncommon in the financial industry for crypto exchanges. Wall Street and major global brokerages operate at similar tempos. The blockchain industry essentially still belongs to the financial industry; expecting a slow pace like some physical industries is difficult to achieve.

Moreover, AI is reconstructing the entire production function of enterprises, improving overall efficiency. From Block to Musk’s companies, to traditional tech giants, the essence of the layoff wave is: one person + AI is replacing the work efficiency of what used to require 5-10 people. This is an irreversible industrial upgrade, not a cyclical fluctuation.

歐日報： Gate listed 447 tokens in spot trading in 2025, with 318 being global first listings. Is the number of listings too high and too frequent?

Dr. Han: Gate has maintained a proactive approach to listings since 2013. Back then, we not only had Bitcoin but also first listed Litecoin and DOGE. DOGE’s trading volume on Gate accounted for 90% of the global volume at that time. Later, during the Ethereum ICO era, discussions about which tokens exchanges should list became more numerous and serious, but Gate always remained open. Looking at it today, judging by the actions of all exchanges, the trend of openness is unstoppable. Gate just realized it decades earlier than others.

Centralized exchanges are essentially just tools for user trading, no different in function from decentralized exchanges. DEXs are very open, even having no real listing standards. Centralized exchanges should also adapt to this trend. What we need to do is provide users with protection and tools, such as using data analysis and contract checks to identify if a token is a “pixiu coin” (non-transferable) or a risky token. But we cannot decide which tokens users want to trade; we respect DYOR (Do Your Own Research).

歐日報： In 2025, Gate vigorously developed its Content Square. Other exchanges are also focusing on social features, such as Binance Square and OKX Planet. Why are exchanges starting to develop social functions? Will this be the next major battleground for exchange competition?

Dr. Han: Gate started doing social very early. In 2013, we launched a chat function, which I developed myself. Because trading generates a desire to share—whether you make a profit or a loss, you want to communicate with other investors. So to help users better exchange ideas and information, we launched Content Square and Gate Live. In recent years, many peers have indeed been doing this. Social is indeed an important segment, but for exchanges, it is not a core business; it’s just a channel for investors to synchronize information and communicate.

Gate’s Compliance Progress and Future Plans

歐日報： Compliance has always been a top priority for exchange development. What achievements did Gate make in compliance construction in 2025? What are the plans for 2026?

Dr. Han: Gate started advancing the compliance process in 2018. In 2018, we submitted a compliance license application in Malta. In 2022, Gate obtained Malta’s compliant custody and trading licenses. Since then, we have been promoting the compliance process globally. 2025 was indeed the year we obtained the most compliance licenses. In the United States, we have already obtained compliance licenses in 35 states, with compliant business covering 46 US jurisdictions, allowing us to provide legal services in most parts of the US. In Europe, we can now operate compliantly and legally in over 20 countries. We have also obtained compliance licenses in other regions and countries like Australia and Japan.

After seven or eight years of effort, Gate can now operate businesses in most compliant regions globally. Next, we are also paying attention to some emerging regions. If new opportunities arise, we will actively pursue them. Additionally, we are exploring new areas. Besides blockchain custody, trading, and other licenses, we will also strive to obtain more compliance licenses in payments and derivatives.

歐日報： Previously, in a December interview (with WuBlockchain), you mentioned Gate has a “vision” for going public. How is this specifically planned?

Dr. Han: Going public is something Gate has been planning long-term. The compliance process advanced globally over these years also helps achieve this plan. On one hand, compliance can deepen user trust in the platform; on the other hand, it also positively impacts Gate’s valuation. Our overall strategic consideration is to establish relatively independent entities in various regions globally and then gradually achieve listing in each region.

結論

Recently, “raising lobsters” has become a hot term sweeping through the tech circle, referring to the process where users deploy and train the open-source AI agent OpenClaw—named for its icon resembling a red lobster.

Just two weeks after the interview concluded, Gate launched the AI Agent platform GateClaw (Gate Blue Lobster). This AI assistant customized for Crypto scenarios is

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