GateToken (also indexed on-chain as "GateChainToken") (GT) is the native token of the Gate cryptocurrency exchange, deployed as an ERC-20 on Ethereum on 2019-05-09.
It also serves as the native gas and utility asset of GateChain, Gate's own EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain, with "Gate Layer," an OP-Stack Layer-2, built on top of it. Holders use GT for exchange fee discounts, listing votes, and network gas fees; as of 2026-08-31, GT traded at approximately $8.05.
GT differentiates itself by doubling as a centralized-exchange utility token and the native gas asset of Gate's own Layer-1 chain, GateChain, and its Layer-2, Gate Layer. This gives it network-level utility beyond typical exchange fee discounts.
A continuous buyback-and-burn program, funded by 15% of Gate's quarterly trading profits, had removed over 184.8 million GT (more than 60% of the original supply cap) as of Q4 2025. Approximately 250,018 monthly active addresses were recorded interacting with Gate's contracts.
GT functions as both a utility and a governance-adjacent token within the Gate ecosystem.
GT's maximum supply cap is 300,000,000 tokens, reduced from an original 1,000,000,000 GT mint. Circulating supply is approximately 106.61 million GT as of 2026-08-31.
Current total supply is closer to 115-119 million GT after cumulative burns removed over 184.8 million GT (more than 60% of the cap) by Q4 2025. Net emission is deflationary: 15% of Gate's quarterly trading profits fund ongoing buybacks and burns, with the most recent quarterly burn removing 2,163,900.48 GT.
GT launched without a private sale, ICO, or venture-capital funding round. Between 2019-04-08 and 2019-04-21, Gate raised $64 million through a "Gate Points" mechanism at a stated sale price of $0.40 per GT.
The ERC-20 contract deployed on 2019-05-09, with trading beginning in May 2019 at a first market-tracked price of roughly $0.7161; GT formally became Gate's exchange token on 2020-03-02. This followed the exchange's own founding in 2013 as "Bter.com," six years before the token launched.
GT is deployed as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, with its contract created on 2019-05-09.
GT is also the native gas asset of GateChain, Gate's own EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain. "Gate Layer," an OP-Stack-based Layer-2, settles to GateChain and has launched on its mainnet.
Gate, originally launched as "Bter.com," was founded in 2013 by Lin Han, who serves as CEO.
Han holds a PhD in Optoelectronics, a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Software Engineering from Peking University (2009), and a Master's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science (2010); he has said losing 100 BTC to scammers motivated him to build a more secure exchange. The exchange rebranded to Gate.io in late 2017.
The international Gate platform is operated by Gate Technology Inc., a Cayman Islands entity registered with CIMA under the Cayman VASP Act 2020.
GT governance operates informally at the platform level rather than through a formal on-chain DAO.
Holders can vote on new token listings on Gate.io, commonly cited as roughly 1 GT = 1 vote, locking GT to vote and sometimes receiving project airdrops in return. As GateChain's native asset, GT holders also participate in decisions on network upgrades and technical changes to the chain.
GateChain's mainnet was upgraded to v19/v20 on 2025-09-15, and "Gate Layer," an OP-Stack Layer-2 settling to GateChain, launched on mainnet with a v1.1.0 upgrade scheduled for 2026-03-12.
Regulatory expansion continued with the Malta CASP authorization (2025-09-29) and PSD2 license (February 2026), the VARA license for Gate Dubai (April 2025), and Gate US reaching spot trading availability in 30 US states by early 2026. The next quarterly GT burn is scheduled for Q2 2026.
No third-party smart-contract audit of the GT ERC-20 contract has been published to date. Gate states it requires third-party audits, citing CertiK, Quantstamp, and SlowMist, before listing new tokens on its exchange.
At the platform level, Gate.io holds a CertiK Skynet Security Score of 82.37/100, a CER.live "AA" rating (88/100), and ISO 27001 certification. On the Ethereum contract, the top 10 holder addresses hold effectively 100% of tracked supply, and on-chain DEX liquidity is minimal, with most GT trading occurring on Gate.io itself.
