Dear Gate users, partners, and media friends:

This year marks Gate's thirteenth anniversary. When I created this platform, Bitcoin and blockchain were still very niche topics. Today, Gate has become a platform serving tens of millions of users worldwide. Along the way, we wouldn't have achieved this without the trust and support of every user, partner, and team member. On this 13th anniversary, I'd like to share Gate's development history, its milestones, and our thoughts on the future.

The starting point of choice: Leaving certainty and embracing the unknown.

Thirteen years ago, on a seemingly clear path in life, I made an ill-timed choice.

At that time, I was doing postdoctoral research in optoelectronics overseas. Continuing along the existing path and becoming an academic researcher was a highly certain and widely recognized path.

From a rational perspective, there is almost no need for further judgment.

But I chose to leave.

If we had continued to focus on our original direction, on optoelectronics and chips, our trajectory today might be completely different. In those technological waves that have profoundly changed the world, these paths themselves are neither lacking in certainty nor in value.

But going back to that point in time, the real question that needed to be answered was not "which path is safer", but rather which direction is closer to the starting point of the next structural change.

At the time, the blockchain industry followed a path with almost no precedents and a lack of consensus. It was more uncertain and easier to overlook; but precisely because of this, it demanded greater long-term judgment, patience, and discipline. In retrospect, this choice defined the next thirteen years.

This is more like a personal decision.

There was no team, no resources, and not even a clear path. From one person to a small team of a dozen people, and now to a global organization of nearly three thousand people, this process itself is an answer.

I still remember my first team building activity. It was a rather cold winter day, and there were only a few of us, our faces red from the cold. There weren't many plans, and we weren't really a "team." We just sat together and talked about things that were still uncertain.

But that moment felt so real.

Later, as the team expanded and the path became clearer, many things became more organized and controllable. Even now, when I occasionally think back to that moment, I still feel that the starting point for everything was actually already there.

Define capability through action

Looking back, this choice was not accidental.

From a very young age, I've been used to making my own decisions and preferring to verify answers myself rather than accepting ready-made paths.

After graduating from junior high school and getting my first computer, I began to systematically teach myself programming. Disassembling and reassembling the device was what I was most engrossed in at the time.

I care more about the process itself than the result—understanding how it works and then reconstructing it. This interest in the "underlying mechanisms" later extended to more systematic learning.

Choosing electronics as my major in university was not just a choice of major, but a deeper extension for me. During that period, I spent far more time on experiments and practice than on regular courses, and gradually developed a problem-oriented learning style.

This state of mind intensifies further upon entering the master's and doctoral programs. Most of the time is spent in the lab, from design and debugging to repeated verification—a monotonous but highly focused process. Like Gate's investment in Intelligent Web3 development, the team worked tirelessly for nearly two months, and everything was incredibly exciting; we did it.

Looking back now, this experience has had some long-term effects, including a sensitivity to detail, the patience to break down complex systems, and an almost instinctive work rhythm. Some colleagues have joked that this was probably the starting point for my later habit of working late into the night.

In the early stages of the startup, for a long period, I was always the last person to leave the office. Many decisions and considerations were made late at night. Then, at dawn, I would go back to rest for a few hours before starting the next cycle. People on the team often joked that my working hours always seemed to be "out of sync" with everyone else's.

But to some extent, this rhythm itself is how I understand problems and make judgments. I seem to enjoy this "undisturbed time" more.

traversing the unknown and the fog

Choosing to invest long-term in a field that has not yet been proven or even understood is itself a risk.

At that time, the industry lacked clear rules, mature infrastructure, and even the most basic trust and consensus.

We are facing not just a technical problem, but a more fundamental judgment—does the world truly need to be restructured? Our answer is yes.

Thus, Gate took its first step.

To understand this journey in a more intuitive way, in the first few years, I almost always walked the "least crowded road." Being misunderstood was the norm; being questioned and even ignored was also the norm.

But looking back, this "less traveled path" is often the starting point of a new technological paradigm—just like Intelligent Web3 today, which, in its early stages, also experienced a long period of skepticism, a scarce consensus, and repeated verification of its long-term value.

From being ignored to being widely discussed; from being explored on the fringes to gradually becoming part of the infrastructure, Gate has consistently maintained its pace of innovation, bravely staying at the forefront of the industry and constantly trying new products, technologies, and models.

Looking back, I have made some mistakes and imperfect decisions, but every attempt has accumulated experience for the future and is worthwhile. I once told my team that historically, we have paid more than a billion dollars for our mistakes.

When the industry was at its most frenzied, we did not lose our basic judgment; when the industry was at its most pessimistic, we did not give up our long-term investment.

We've gradually realized that what truly determines how far a platform can go is not its ability to expand during boom times, but its self-discipline during bust times. It's about whether it can resist temptations, remain clear-headed in the face of risks, and adhere to its fundamental logic in the face of uncertainty.

These are far more important than growth itself.

It is through these continuous attempts and progress that we have gradually moved from being initial explorers to becoming more constructive industry pioneers.

2025: Structural Advancement and Industry Restructuring

Today, as we look at this industry from the starting point of its thirteenth year, it is shifting from "narrative-driven" to "infrastructure-driven".

From "emotional amplification" to "value accumulation";

From localized innovation to broader real-world connections.

New variables are entering this system: technology, regulation, the macro environment, and a broader user base. This means the barriers to entry in the industry are rising. At the same time, the opportunities for true long-term investors are also increasing.

Gate is also gradually shifting from a builder to a shaper of industry structure. We are no longer limited to providing trading services, but are trying to build more complete connections—connecting users with assets, connecting liquidity with innovation, and connecting structural opportunities between different markets.

This is a more complex path, and it also means greater responsibility.

For Gate, 2025 is not just a year of growth, but a year of conscious structural advancement.

In both the spot and futures markets, we continue to enhance our depth, efficiency, and risk control capabilities, further solidifying our leading position in mainstream trading systems. These capabilities are not merely a reflection of scale, but rather the foundation for navigating market cycles.

But the more crucial changes occurred outside of the transaction itself.

Over the past year, we have continued to advance our licensing and localization capabilities within the framework of compliance and globalization. This is not a passive adaptation, but a proactive move into a higher-standard competitive environment. Simultaneously, we have been developing in multiple directions:

RWA enables crypto assets to begin establishing a more direct connection with the real world;

TradFi is gradually reshaping the boundaries between traditional finance and on-chain systems.

The extension from CeFi to DeFi has transformed platforms from mere carriers of centralized structures into part of a more open ecosystem.

And AI is redefining the efficiency boundaries of trading, risk control, and decision-making itself.

These seemingly disparate paths are converging into a clearer main theme, and the industry is transitioning from a "transaction-driven" to an "infrastructure-driven" phase.

At this stage, the nature of competition has changed. It is no longer just competition between products, but competition between system capabilities; it is no longer just competition between scale, but competition between structure and standards.

What Gate is doing is not chasing every short-term narrative, but rather laying the groundwork ahead of time on multiple key levels. When the industry enters the next cycle, platforms with true infrastructure capabilities will no longer be just participants, but part of the rules.

We are well aware that such a position cannot be granted in the short term. It can only be built up little by little through continuous investment, restraint, and sound judgment.

2025 is just one stage in this process.

New Beginnings and the Future: The Gate Defines the Next Phase

Twelve years feels more like a complete cycle. From early exploration to mid-term expansion, and then to contraction and restructuring within the cycle, we've witnessed almost every stage of this industry's evolution: boom, bubble, collapse, rebuilding, and finally, the formation of a new consensus. It's not just an accumulation of time, but also a repeated calibration of our understanding, capabilities, and boundaries.

For us, the thirteenth year is not just a "continuation." It's more like a new beginning.

If we compare Gate to a person, what does it mean to be thirteen years old, entering the Teenage period?

It is no longer an individual dependent on the external environment for survival, nor has it yet become a fully stable and mature system. It has begun to have its own judgment, to understand the rules, and to attempt to define them. It knows the world is not simple, but it still chooses to move forward.

The next phase has begun. Every strategic move and every innovation is not only about growth, but also about reshaping the industry landscape.

We will use a higher-level strategy, continuous innovation, and deep industry insights to reshape the rules, lead trends, and make Gate a truly irreplaceable force in the market landscape.

Thank you for your trust and choice at different stages.

In an industry full of fluctuations and uncertainties, such trust is never a given.

In our thirteenth year, we are still on the road.

Like a growing individual, imperfect but more clear-headed; not making promises lightly, but taking responsibility for every choice.

The future is long, let's walk it together.

Gate Founder and CEO

Dr. Han