Gate Founder Dr. Han Reflects on 2025 and Gate’s Role in Web3’s Real-World Growth

In a 2025 open letter, Gate.io’s founder Dr. Han outlined the platform’s strategic push to embed Web3 technologies into everyday financial activities, signaling a shift from niche crypto trading to mainstream digital infrastructure. This approach aligns with broader market projections of rapid Web3 expansion but leaves key questions about user behavior and regulatory impact unanswered.

What happened

In 2025, Dr. Han, founder of Gate.io, published an open letter emphasizing the platform’s commitment to integrating Web3 technologies into daily financial life. According to the letter, Gate.io aims to transition Web3 from a specialized technology sector into a foundational element of mainstream digital finance. This strategic focus is reflected in Gate.io’s expanded product offerings, which now include decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, NFT marketplaces, and blockchain-based payment solutions embedded within its ecosystem.

Gate.io’s official disclosures and 2025 product roadmap confirm these additions, demonstrating an operational pivot towards utility-driven blockchain applications. Supporting this shift, Gate.io’s Q4 2025 user activity report shows a 45% year-over-year increase in active users engaging with DeFi services on the platform, suggesting growing traction for Web3 financial products among its user base.

Market research from 2023 by MarketsandMarkets projects the global Web3 market size to grow from approximately $12 billion in 2023 to over $40 billion by 2026. This forecast is driven by increased adoption of blockchain-based financial services, aligning broadly with Gate.io’s strategic direction.

Editorial analysis from BeinCrypto interprets Dr. Han’s statements as a deliberate move to normalize Web3 financial services by embedding them into everyday financial activities, moving beyond the speculative trading that initially characterized much of the crypto industry.

However, there is an alternative interpretation that the increase in user numbers could be influenced by factors unrelated to Web3 integration, such as a general crypto market recovery or intensified marketing efforts, though this is not directly supported by Gate.io or independent sources.

Why this matters

Gate.io’s strategic shift reflects a broader structural evolution in the digital asset ecosystem, where Web3 technologies are poised to move from experimental frameworks to integral components of everyday financial infrastructure. By embedding DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and blockchain payment systems within a single platform, Gate.io is attempting to create a more accessible and utility-focused user experience.

If successful, this transition could broaden the user base beyond early adopters and speculative traders to include mainstream consumers and businesses engaging in real-world financial activities. The reported 45% growth in DeFi users on Gate.io between 2024 and 2025 supports the notion that Web3 financial products are gaining wider acceptance.

Furthermore, the anticipated expansion of the global Web3 market to over $40 billion by 2026 underscores the potential economic significance of these developments. Gate.io’s integration efforts may contribute materially to this growth by lowering barriers to entry and enhancing the practical utility of blockchain technologies.

From a policy perspective, the normalization of Web3 financial services raises questions about regulatory frameworks and infrastructure readiness. The shift from niche innovation to mainstream utility will likely require clearer regulatory guidance and robust technological infrastructure to support increased transaction volumes and user retention.

What remains unclear

Despite the available data, several important questions remain unanswered. The specific changes in user behavior or types of financial activities attributable directly to Gate.io’s Web3 integration have not been disclosed. Beyond the increase in user counts, there is no granular data on transaction volumes, user retention rates, or demographic shifts that would clarify the depth of adoption.

Comparative metrics placing Gate.io’s Web3 adoption in context with competitors are also not publicly available, limiting the ability to assess the platform’s relative performance in this space. Additionally, the regulatory environment and its potential impact on Gate.io’s ongoing strategy and user growth are not discussed in the available sources, leaving an important dimension of risk and opportunity unexplored.

Finally, it remains unclear how Gate.io intends to define or measure “mainstream” adoption by 2026. No specific key performance indicators (KPIs) or threshold targets have been publicly stated, making it difficult to evaluate progress against stated ambitions.

What to watch next

Gate.io’s forthcoming disclosures on user behavior metrics beyond active user counts, including transaction volumes and retention related to Web3 products.
Comparative data or third-party audits that benchmark Gate.io’s Web3 adoption against other major crypto platforms.
Regulatory developments affecting blockchain-based financial services, particularly in jurisdictions where Gate.io operates, which could influence user engagement and product offerings.
Updates from Gate.io on specific KPIs or targets defining mainstream adoption of Web3 services, including timelines and performance milestones for 2026.
Market research tracking the global Web3 market size and penetration, to contextualize Gate.io’s contribution within broader industry growth.

Gate.io’s 2025 strategic focus on integrating Web3 into everyday finance marks a significant phase in the digital asset sector’s evolution. While user growth and market projections suggest promising momentum, the lack of detailed behavioral data, comparative benchmarks, and regulatory clarity underscores the ongoing uncertainties. How Gate.io and the broader industry navigate these factors will be critical to realizing the vision of Web3 as mainstream digital infrastructure.

Source: https://beincrypto.com/gate-founder-han-2025-open-letter-web3/. This article is based on verified research material available at the time of writing. Where information is limited or unavailable, this is stated explicitly.