Gate CEO Reveals 2025’s Crypto Game-Changers: Perpetuals, DeFi Disruption, and the Market’s Radical Shift

Gate's CEO just laid out the roadmap for crypto's next evolution—and it's not what Wall Street expects.

Perpetuals Take Center Stage

Forget simple spot trading. The real action in 2025 is in perpetual contracts. They're not just a product anymore; they're the primary engine for liquidity and price discovery. Exchanges that master this complexity will dominate, while those clinging to the old models get left behind. It's a high-stakes game of leverage and innovation.

DeFi's Quiet Infiltration

Decentralized finance is no longer the rebellious outsider. It's becoming the backbone. The trend isn't about replacing centralized players overnight—it's about seamless integration. Think institutional-grade DeFi tools wrapped in a user-friendly shell. The smart money is building bridges, not moats.

A Market Transformed

The crypto landscape of 2025 looks nothing like its past self. Regulatory clarity—or the lack thereof—continues to be the ultimate price mover. Institutional capital flows are now the dominant tide, shifting markets with a weight that retail frenzy never could. Adaptation isn't optional; it's existential.

The future belongs to platforms that can navigate both the wild volatility of crypto-native assets and the tedious, compliance-heavy demands of traditional finance. After all, what's the point of disrupting finance if you can't eventually charge the same opaque fees?

TLDR

• Gate’s focus in 2025 was on expanding infrastructure for both retail and institutional clients.
• Gate’s CrossEx platform was launched to improve multi-exchange trading for professionals.
• The shift to decentralized platforms in 2025 did not exclude centralized exchanges like Gate.
• Gate’s vault accounts ensure greater user control and security over assets in 2025.

The crypto market in 2025 saw a dramatic shift, with institutional players driving much of the liquidity. Gate, one of the oldest centralized exchanges, capitalized on this change, expanding its offerings and embracing new market trends. Dr. Han, Gate’s CEO and founder, discussed these shifts and Gate’s strategy moving forward, especially focusing on perpetual trading, the rise of CeDeFi, and the growing trend of decentralized platforms.

A Shift from Retail to Institutional Capital

In previous bull cycles, retail traders were the primary force behind crypto market growth, as seen in 2021. However, by 2025, large institutional investors such as asset managers and banks became more prominent. This change meant that the crypto market was no longer driven by speculative retail traders. Institutional players, seeking reliable execution and system efficiency, are increasingly using professional tools for trading.

Gate, historically known for its retail-friendly interface, adjusted its infrastructure to cater to this new class of trader. “The professional trader and institutional customers need to trade through a more professional interface, like API,” Dr. Han explained. He noted that institutional clients prioritize high-speed, low-latency connections, and better trading execution. In response, Gate launched its CrossEx platform in October 2025, designed to improve cross-exchange trading and allow users to manage their capital and execution seamlessly.

CrossEx was created specifically with institutional and professional traders in mind, who typically manage fragmented balances across different exchanges. “We provide a unified interface, enabling users to deploy assets across platforms with ease,” said Dr. Han. This innovation was intended to meet the growing needs of professional traders for efficiency and improved workflow.

The Rise of Decentralized Finance and CeDeFi

While institutional capital became more prominent, retail activity remained active, especially in decentralized finance (DeFi). Dr. Han noted that decentralized platforms had increasingly captured retail traders, offering fast access to new tokens and markets. This shift has led to a growing preference for decentralized platforms, particularly for trading meme coins and perpetual contracts.

As trading migrated to decentralized platforms, Gate also sought to bridge the gap between centralized and decentralized finance (CeDeFi). In 2025, the company expanded its offerings with Gate Layer, a Layer 2 network built on the Optimism Stack. This network is EVM-compatible and serves as a key part of Gate’s on-chain strategy. Gate Layer supports decentralized applications like Gate Perp DEX, an on-chain perpetual trading platform, and Gate Fun, a zero-code token launchpad.

Dr. Han emphasized that Gate’s goal was to offer decentralized options without sacrificing the performance and security of centralized exchanges. “For Gate, we need to build a strong platform for both CEX and DEX users. They want decentralized access, but with the reliability they’re used to in CEX,” he stated. Gate’s approach was to allow users to interact with both environments seamlessly while maintaining access to top-tier execution speeds and efficiency.

Security and Transparency as a Core Focus

As security concerns in the crypto market intensified following high-profile exchange hacks, Gate’s focus on trust and transparency became even more critical. In 2020, the exchange introduced proof of reserves, combining Merkle tree verification with zero-knowledge proofs to ensure users that their assets were fully backed. Dr. Han pointed out that Gate was ahead of the curve in implementing this system. “We published the open-source code and worked with auditors to verify our system,” he said.

In addition to proof of reserves, Gate introduced vault accounts in 2025. These accounts use multi-party computation (MPC) technology to ensure that assets cannot be moved without explicit user approval. This feature enhances security and offers users better control over their assets. The vault accounts come with additional safeguards, such as time delays on withdrawals, offering users a window of time to intervene in case of unauthorized access.

Gate’s Vision for 2026

Looking ahead to 2026, Dr. Han shared Gate’s plans to streamline the user experience, particularly as crypto trading tools become increasingly complex. Gate aims to simplify access to both CEX and DEX platforms by reducing friction. One potential avenue for improvement is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the platform.

According to Dr. Han, AI could allow users to state their trading intentions, such as buying one Bitcoin, without needing to navigate complex interfaces or understand underlying mechanisms. “We find the best price, execute the task with minimal cost,” he explained.

Gate’s strategy for 2026 focuses on continuous innovation, ensuring the exchange can meet the demands of both retail and institutional traders while remaining at the forefront of the evolving crypto market.