Gate Founder Dr. Han: The crypto winter drives structural reshaping, and everything going on-chain will become the new paradigm in finance

On the main stage of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival on April 21, 2026, Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han delivered an in-depth speech titled “Move Everything On-Chain.” He systematically reviewed the platform’s 13-year evolution and delivered an exceptionally impactful judgment on the underlying transformation of the global financial system: on-chain is not an option—it is the form of the financial system.

Thirteen Years of Structural Change: From Trading Platforms to the Evolution of On-Chain Ecosystems

Dr. Han pointed out that since its founding, Gate has undergone multiple key structural changes. The platform began with digital asset trading in its early days, gradually expanding into a comprehensive platform covering derivatives, asset management, and diversified services, and then accelerating toward today’s evolution into an on-chain ecosystem and a multi-asset integration system. To date, Gate has served more than 52 million users worldwide, covers more than 80 jurisdictions, and manages over $10 billion in digital assets, forming a foundation for continuous global expansion. During this process, the platform has constantly adjusted its product structure and technology layout, aiming to strengthen infrastructure capabilities and promote ongoing expansion and upgrades of its services.

Market Situation: The Crypto Winter and Intensifying Separation From TradFi, Opening Up New Growth Space

Dr. Han noted that the current crypto market is in a cyclical adjustment phase: Bitcoin has fallen about 40% from its peak, and the overall market value has dropped from $40 trillion to around $20 trillion. At the same time, both DEX trading activity and the number of new asset issuances are declining in sync. However, traditional financial markets are showing strong performance instead—gold prices are approaching nearly a doubling, the Nasdaq is up nearly 30%, and crude oil is up about 15%—forming a stark divergence from crypto assets. More importantly, TradFi still far exceeds the crypto market in market size and trading volume, with a market cap more than a hundred times larger and trading volume dozens of times higher. Under this structural difference, he emphasized that the tokenization of traditional financial assets and bringing them on-chain (RWA) will become the core pathway to connect the two systems and unlock incremental space.

Core Insight: On-Chain Is the Future Form of the Financial System

In the core part of the speech, Dr. Han emphasized that blockchain is evolving from a technological tool into financial infrastructure. He believes that the significance of on-chain is not to create a new asset category, but to reshape how assets are generated, circulated, and priced. The on-chain system brings not only improved efficiency, but also a reconstruction of traditional financial structures. Through on-chainization, assets can achieve higher-frequency and more transparent circulation, and the boundaries between trading and clearing are significantly narrowed, thereby redefining the traditional intermediary-centered model.

For future industry direction, Dr. Han offered an important market judgment: in the future, finance will become integrated, and it will no longer distinguish between crypto and traditional. In this context, assets that are not on-chain will be gradually priced as inefficient assets, while on-chain assets will, due to more efficient liquidity and accessibility, gradually gain more advantageous market pricing and broader application space.

Strategic Layout: Rebuilding Trading Entry Points and Liquidity Systems

Dr. Han stated that Gate’s strategic focus is not only to promote the integration of CEX and DEX, but also to build a unified trading entry point connecting on-chain and traditional finance (TradFi). He pointed out that as RWA accelerates into deployment and multi-asset tokens go on-chain, exchanges will gradually evolve into multi-asset liquidity hubs. Against this backdrop, Gate is accelerating the construction of an integrated trading system covering spot, perpetual contracts, and CFDs, and plans to launch thousands of tokenized assets, bridging the boundary between on-chain and off-chain assets. With 7×24 trading capabilities and more efficient asset onboarding mechanisms, the platform will continuously enhance global liquidity and market depth, enabling value to flow more freely and efficiently across different asset forms, and reshaping a new trading paradigm under the integration of crypto and traditional finance.

Future Outlook: Financial Integration and the Evolution of a Global Value Network Driven by On-Chain Ecosystems

At the end of the speech, Dr. Han reiterated his confidence in long-termism for the industry. He said that Gate will continue to strengthen its multi-asset support capabilities, promoting more efficient connections and collaboration between traditional assets and digital assets within the same system. He emphasized that as asset forms and trading structures continue to evolve, Gate will adopt a more open architecture to support diverse assets, improve liquidity efficiency across markets and across forms, and build a more extensible value-connection network within an ever-changing financial system.

About Gate

Gate was founded in 2013. Its founder and CEO is Dr. Han. It is one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency trading platforms. The platform serves more than 52 million users and supports trading of more than 4,500 crypto assets. As an industry benchmark, Gate was the first to achieve 100% proof of reserves, and its ecosystem includes Gate Wallet, Gate Ventures, Gate for AI, and other diverse services. For more information, visit: Website |X |Telegram |LinkedIn |Instagram |YouTube

Disclaimer:

This content does not constitute any invitation, solicitation, or recommendation. You should always seek independent professional advice before making any investment decisions. Please note that Gate may restrict or prohibit all or part of its services from restricted regions. Please read the User Agreement for more information, link: https://www.gate.com/zh/user-agreement .