Gate.io Suspends New Account Registrations in Japan Amid Regulatory Pressures

July 23, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Layerzero’s ZRO Token Listed on Major Exchanges, Boosting Cross-Chain Communication Potential

June 21, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Low-Cap Altcoin Soars Over 100% in 24 Hours Amid Partnerships and Perpetual Contract Listing on Top-10 Exchange

March 28, 2024 The Daily Hodl

Ethereum-Based Altcoin Quietly Pulls Off 242% Rally This Month Amid Support from Crypto Exchange Gate.io

September 27, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Gate.io denies liquidity problems after Multichain CEO goes missing

May 31, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Some Twitter users posted transactions showing large inflows of MULTI and FTM to Gate.io, leading them to perceive a connection between the two organizations.

Centralized crypto exchange Gate.io denied rumors of illiquidity on May 31, stating that “there are no issues with our operations or withdrawals as rumored.” The statement comes after numerous Twitter channels had alleged that the exchange was experiencing insolvency due to an alleged connection between it and the cross-chain router protocol Multichain (MULTI).

The Gate.io team said the company's "operations are running healthy" and that it is focused on establishing an affiliated trading platform in Hong Kong called Gate.HK.

Rumors about Gate.io's insolvency erupted after a series of events relating to Multichain. On May 24, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence posted data showing large inflows of MULTI to Gate.io, which Arkham said was related to rumors of the protocol's team "allegedly being arrested in Shanghai.”

Following rumours of the @MultichainOrg team being allegedly arrested in Shanghai, some large holders of $MULTI have began moving funds.

Team wallets moving ~$3M of $MULTI to https://t.co/5ecSG3rKek have also spooked some investors, with $MULTI price falling 26.5% in 24h. pic.twitter.com/p2sQpu9Ass
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) May 24, 2023

On May 25, Binance suspended deposits for several bridged tokens that relied on the Multichain protocol, including bridged versions of Polkastarter (POLS), Alpaca Finance (ALPACA), and Fantom (FTM). Binance said these tokens were experiencing delayed transactions and temporarily paused deposits while seeking clarity from Multichain.

On May 31, Multichain posted a statement that its CEO was missing, adding that some of the protocol's routers no longer work because only the CEO had access to the relevant servers. The same day, some Twitter users began posting images of transactions that were allegedly large deposits of FTM from Multichain team members to Gate.io.

[] JUST IN:

There are rumors that the https://t.co/5YQLO0SsVt team has been arrested. The Multichain team has sent https://t.co/5YQLO0SsVt $10M USD in $FTM. Is this an ongoing larger-scale issue? ‍☠️ https://t.co/s29KYytChM pic.twitter.com/1XXbwGMoPs
— CoinSumption (@CoinSumption) May 31, 2023

Blockchain data confirms that more than $10 million of FTM was transferred from an unknown user to Gate.io on May 25-26. Cointelegraph was not able to determine the identity of the account owner performing the transaction.

After seeing multiple deposits of MULTI and Fantom to Gate.io, some Twitter users suspected that the exchange was exposed to fallout from Multichain.

The team at Gate.io has denied these rumors, stating that the exchange is processing all withdrawals and operating normally.

Arbitrum’s Governance Token ARB Ranks Within Top 40 Market Capitalizations Following Airdrop

March 25, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Gate.io to enter Hong Kong following city’s $6.4M budget allocation to Web3

February 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Budget

Gate’s founder called Hong Kong a “hub,” meanwhile, the city’s financial secretary said the region “must keep up” with the “huge potential” of Web3.

Cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io is gearing up to launch a presence in Hong Kong following the local government's planned $6.4 million (50 million Hong Kong dollar) cash injection into Web3 as per the city’s 2023-24 budget.

Gate Group said on Feb. 22 that it will apply for a crypto license in Hong Kong allowing it to launch “Gate HK.” The firm's local company, Hippo Financial Services, gained a license in August 2022 to provide virtual asset custodial services.

It comes as Hong Kong financial secretary, Paul Chan, announced the Web3-related funding and the creation of a crypto task force in a Feb. 22 budget speech.

He added Web3 has “huge potential” and the Special Administrative Region of China must keep pace with its “continuous development.”

“We must keep up with the times and seize this golden opportunity to spearhead innovation development.”

Chan outlined the funds would go toward expediting “the Web3 ecosystem development” by organizing international seminars, promoting business cooperation and arranging “workshops for young people.”

He noted a “large number” of companies are considering setting up shop in the city due to the government’s cryptocurrency laws. Gate Group’s founder, Dr. Han Lin, called Hong Kong “a global strategic market” and a “hub” due to its “industry-leading regulatory regime.”

Very excited about Hong Kong. Having obtained the TCSP License in HK, Gate Group is also preparing for a crypto license and fine tuning Gate HK, a new entity tailored to serve HK’s growing crypto market, stay tuned.
— Lin Han (@han_gate) February 21, 2023

Hong Kong shared its plans on Feb. 20 with a new licensing regime and a proposal to allow retail traders access to licensed crypto platforms.

Due to the influx of business interest, Chan said he “will establish and lead a task force” on virtual asset development made up of members from financial regulators, market participants and “relevant policy bureaux.”

The task force would “provide recommendations on the sustainable and responsible development of the sector” according to Chan.

Hong Kong started its push to gain status as a global crypto hub in October 2022 by launching crypto-friendly policy frameworks to regulate the industry within the city.

Despite being a region of China, the city’s special status allows for its own laws and governance. Hong Kong’s crypto push would seem to be in contrast to China’s crypto ban, but it's reported that officials in Beijing are quietly backing the region's crypto ambitions.

Declining Interest Leads to Poor Market Performance for Ethereum Proof-of-Work Forks

January 3, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Gate.io closer to launching US services after receiving local licenses

December 20, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Gate US said it obtained licenses to operate in “several” U.S. states along with a money service business license from FinCEN leading up to its local launch.

Gate US, the United States arm of the fourth largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Gate.io says it has received operating licenses in “several” states, bringing it closer to launching services in the country.

Founder and president of Gate.io and its U.S. entity, Dr. Lin Han, announced in a Dec. 19 statement that Gate US is now registered as a money services business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) — the country’s money laundering and financial crimes watchdog.

He added the exchange “obtained some money transmission licenses or similar to operate, and is currently working to obtain more."

Gate US did not disclose what states it had obtained licenses from but said it is yet to accept users from the country at this stage. Its terms of use however states it will not be available to residents in New York, Hawaii and the territory of Puerto Rico.

Cointelegraph contacted Gate.io for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The exchange is slated to provide services to both retail and institutional users when it opens for U.S. customers.

It joins the likes of other top exchanges by volume registered in the U.S. such as Coinbase, Kraken, Binance US and Gemini. Another popular exchange FTX.US, the U.S. arm of FTX, left a void in the market after being swept up in bankruptcy proceedings in early November.

Han said that it had proactively registered as a money services business as it is “committed to regulatory compliance.”

In a Dec. 20 blog post, parent company Gate.io forecasted impending “inevitable” regulatory frameworks to come in 2023 citing the failure of the Terra ecosystem and bankruptcies of crypto platforms Celsius, BlockFi and FTX.

Earlier in December, a U.S. lawmaker introduced bills aiming to require exchanges to disclose proof of reserves to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If the laws come to fruition, it could spell difficulties for Gate.io as Armanino, the accounting firm it worked with for its proof of reserve attestation, quietly ended its crypto auditing services on Dec. 15.

Proof-of-Reserves Concept Gains Traction as Major Crypto Exchanges Provide Wallet Lists and Promise Full Audits

November 12, 2022 Bitcoin.com

gate.io