Gate.io, a cryptocurrency exchange that has been around for a long time, is going to celebrate its 10th anniversary in May 2023. Its native token, GT, is part of the GateChain blockchain that powers the platform.
The founder and philosophy of GateToken (GT)
Dr. Lin Han, the founder of Gate.io, is a Chinese scientist and crypto enthusiast with a Ph.D. in High-Performance Computing Algorithms. In the early 2010s, Han stumbled upon the Bitcoin whitepaper by chance. Cryptography and blockchain capabilities inspired the scientist. Han got involved in exchange trading and fell victim to scammers, losing 100 BTC. The aforementioned event was the impetus for Lin Han's desire to create a secure "gateway to crypto" - his own platform for trading digital assets. In 2013, he launched the website Bter.com under Chinese jurisdiction. However, as Beijing tightened its stance on the crypto sector in 2017, the project was relocated to the Cayman Islands and rebranded as Gate.io.
Over time, the humble internet resource has evolved into a sophisticated crypto ecosystem, which today encompasses the native GateChain blockchain as well as other trading and investment products. As per CoinMarketCap's estimates, Gate.io was ranked among the top 20 largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by the spring of 2023.
GateToken price fluctuations in 2019-2023.
Source: CoinMarketCap
GateToken (GT) launch
Between April 8 and April 15, 2019, Gate.io raised $64 million to launch its own GT token through Gate Points issuance. These Gate Points were available for purchase with BTC, USDT, ETH, tokens from Binance (BNB), Huobi (HT), and other cryptocurrencies. Customers could use purchased Gate Points to reduce fees or exchange them for Gate Tokens (GT). Within a week, the exchange distributed approximately 160 million tokens among Gate Point holders. The total amount of orders placed to purchase Gate Points was nearly $3 billion. As a result, Gate Point buyers received around 1 billion GT.
On April 21, 2019, GT trading began, and the coin was exchanged in the pairs GT/USDT and GT/BTC.
GateToken (GT) tokenomics
Over two years, Gate.io repurchased and incinerated 700 million tokens, pushing the token's price to its all-time high of $13 by May 2021. As of late March 2023, GT was valued at approximately $5.
- As of the end of March 2023, the maximum supply of GT is 300 million coins.
- The circulating supply of GT is over 108 million coins.
- The market capitalization of GT is around $548 million.
Top 10 exchange tokens by market capitalization
Source: CoinMarketCap
Gate.io users are still able to acquire GT through investing in Gate Points or participating in marketing activities offered by the exchange. Additionally, the token can be mined or purchased on the spot market.
Holding GT on Gate.io can elevate a user's status to VIP level and grant them access to the exchange's exclusive events. In addition, it provides an extra discount on spot trading.
