📈 Crypto exchanges are becoming 24/7 “Wall Street terminals”?
According to CryptoQuant data, monthly trading volume for stock perpetual contracts surged from approximately $15 billion in April to approximately $250 billion in July, a roughly 17-fold increase in 3 months.🔥
Among them, Gate’s July trading volume grew 308% month-on-month and has maintained monthly growth consecutively since May.
From crypto to U.S. stocks, TradFi is becoming the new battleground for crypto exchanges.👀
💬 Would you trade U.S. stocks on a crypto exchange? Join the discussion on Gate Square:
https://www.gate.com/post
‍$MU $SNDK $NVDA

#GateCardTripleUpgrade
THREE UPGRADES, ONE BIGGER ROLE FOR CRYPTO SPENDING
Crypto cards are moving beyond the basic idea of converting digital assets into everyday payments. Gate's latest card enhancements combine higher cashback potential, a redesigned tier structure and support for 3,000+ tokens and multi-chain assets, giving users more flexibility in how they spend and earn.
1 | TURN EVERYDAY SPENDING INTO REWARDS
The upgraded cashback system offers up to 8% cashback on eligible purchases. Rewards can be received in supported assets including BTC, ETH, USDT and Gate's native token, giving cardholders more choice over how their rewards are received.
The economics become more attractive at higher tiers. With a 1% card fee, qualifying users can potentially offset that cost through cashback, while monthly rewards can reach up to 250 USDT depending on the applicable tier and spending.
That changes the basic spending equation: everyday purchases can become another way to accumulate digital assets rather than simply an expense.
2 | TWO ROUTES TO A HIGHER TIER
The second upgrade focuses on simplifying card progression.
Users can qualify for higher tiers through spending activity or VIP status, meaning they do not need to satisfy both routes simultaneously.
Tier assessments are automated using the previous month's average VIP level or spending activity. The resulting tier applies during the following calendar month, creating a more predictable structure for users planning their spending.
This also connects two parts of the ecosystem that are often separate: trading activity and real-world payments.
3 | 3,000+ ASSETS BECOME SPENDABLE
The biggest expansion comes from the supported asset universe.
The card supports 3,000+ tokens and multi-chain assets, allowing users to spend a broader selection of cryptocurrencies without manually converting everything into a single payment balance first.
Behind each transaction, the system can select an exchange route at the time of payment, helping streamline conversion and reduce the friction created by different assets, networks and market conditions.
FROM WALLET TO EVERYDAY PAYMENT
The card is designed around everyday usability rather than crypto-only spending.
Users can access physical and virtual cards, with virtual card issuance available instantly. Support for major mobile-wallet services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay adds another layer of convenience.
Additional features include budget controls, spending notifications and AI-powered risk management, bringing familiar financial-management tools into the crypto payment experience.
GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE
The card can be used across a network of more than 150 million Visa merchants in over 200 countries, extending crypto spending beyond exchanges and dedicated digital-asset platforms.
Combined with tier-based fees and referral rewards, the broader ecosystem is designed to make the card useful for both occasional purchases and higher-frequency spending.
WHY THIS UPGRADE MATTERS
The important change isn't any single feature. It is the combination of rewards + tier progression + asset flexibility.
Higher cashback can improve the incentive to use the card. Multiple qualification routes make progression easier to understand. Support for thousands of assets reduces the need to keep funds concentrated in one cryptocurrency simply for payment purposes.
Together, these features push the crypto card closer to functioning as a daily financial interface between digital assets and traditional merchant networks.
THE BIGGER SHIFT
Crypto adoption does not depend only on trading. The next stage also depends on whether digital assets can become practical for ordinary purchases.
With up to 8% cashback, a dual-track tier system, 3,000+ supported assets and global Visa acceptance, Gate Card's latest upgrade targets that exact gap.
The direction is clear: make crypto easier to hold, easier to spend and more rewarding to use in everyday life.
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#TetherReservesExceedLiabilitiesBy6.8B
Tether reserves exceed liabilities by $6.8 billion, providing confidence with a strong surplus
The most discussed topic on the Tether front is that reserves clearly exceed liabilities, resulting in a $6.8 billion surplus. This surplus is seen as a critical safety buffer for the stablecoin and provides additional capacity for rapid asset sales and conversion to cash when redemption requests arise.
Summary of the figures
• Reserves: $181.2 billion • Liabilities: $174.4 billion and $174.5 billion in another measurement • The surplus between them is $6.8 billion, and is listed as $6.78 billion in some quarterly summaries • The amount of tokens issued is around $183 billion • The reserve mix includes $12.9 billion in gold and $9.9 billion in additional items • Interest income exceeds $10 billion • The user base exceeds 500 million
Auditing and transparency steps
Tether previously published attestations with BDO Italia. It has now moved to a fully audited financial statements process with KPMG. In the audit conducted for Tether International S.A. de CV, KPMG physically counted and verified every gold bar individually. This step is interpreted as an important threshold for market confidence. Because the gold holdings are verified not only as paper entries but also as physical assets.
What does the balance sheet structure look like?
Tether operates a Treasury- and repo-heavy balance sheet. This structure is interpreted as resembling a central bank posture. The high-interest-rate environment turned this Treasury- and repo-heavy structure into a source of profit, generating more than $10 billion in interest income. This creates an unusual profit model for a typical crypto issuer.
Some commentary suggests that Tether now operates like a sovereign wealth fund and is accumulating gold. This accumulation is seen as a step that could strengthen the stablecoin’s perception as a reserve asset.
Why is the $6.8 billion surplus important, with the best examples?
Example one, meeting redemptions during panic
When a stablecoin holder wants to convert a token into cash, the company sells assets from its reserves and redeems the token. A buffer in which reserve assets exceed liabilities provides a safeguard similar to bank capital. The $6.8 billion surplus shows the size of this buffer and provides the capacity to meet redemptions even during a period of heavy outflows.
Example two, the liquidity and confidence cycle
Having $174.4 billion in liabilities against $181.2 billion in reserves means there is more than one dollar in backing for each token. This ratio increases confidence in the market; as confidence increases, usage increases; as usage increases, interest income increases; and as interest income increases, the surplus grows stronger.
Example three, gold and diversification
A diversified portfolio consisting of $12.9 billion in gold and $9.9 billion in other items targets stable returns even under volatile market conditions. Gold, together with dollars and Treasuries and repos, provides risk management.
Example four, 500 million users and ecosystem spending
A user base of more than 500 million and spending to support the digital dollar ecosystem demonstrate the brand’s widespread use. CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasizes confidence and strength even in a challenging macroeconomic environment and defines the brand as Stable Company.
Example five, profit and a sustainable business model
Interest income exceeding $10 billion shows that the reserves are not merely a passive pile but an actively yield-generating structure. This yield reinforces surplus reserves and increases the company’s long-term capacity for spending and development.
Risks and points to consider
• Although the reserve mix is heavily weighted toward Treasuries, repos, and gold, market volatility and falling interest rates may affect income
• If a large redemption wave occurs, rapid selling and liquidity management will be required
• For transparency, steps such as independent audits and physical counts must continue regularly
• Since the amount of tokens issued is at a high level of around $183 billion, even a small percentage fluctuation corresponds to large absolute figures
Conclusion
Tether’s reserves of $181.2 billion exceed its liabilities in the $174.4 billion to $174.5 billion range by $6.8 billion. With $183 billion in tokens issued, $12.9 billion in gold, $9.9 billion in additional assets, more than $10 billion in interest income, and more than 500 million users, along with KPMG’s physical gold count and its history of attestations from BDO, the picture is strong. The Treasury- and repo-heavy balance sheet and sovereign wealth fund-like gold accumulation are interpreted as a critical safety buffer and pillar of stability for the stablecoin.

#OpenAIAnnualRevenueSurpasses40B
$40B REVENUE RUN RATE: OPENAI ENTERS A NEW SCALE
OpenAI has crossed a major financial threshold, with its annualized revenue run rate now exceeding $40 billion. The milestone highlights how quickly demand for AI products is translating into commercial revenue and places OpenAI on a very different financial scale from where it stood just months ago.
THE NUMBERS TELL THE STORY
The reported $40 billion+ annualized run rate represents roughly double the pace recorded in late 2025. A run rate is not the same as recognized annual revenue; it estimates what a company would generate over a full year if its current revenue pace continued.
Even with that distinction, the acceleration is significant. OpenAI's growth increasingly comes from multiple customer groups rather than a single product category.
FROM CHATBOTS TO A BROADER BUSINESS
Consumer subscriptions remain an important part of the business, but OpenAI's commercial footprint is expanding through enterprise software, developer products and newer initiatives.
The Codex coding agent has become an important developer-focused product, while ChatGPT Work applications are strengthening the company's enterprise presence.
Enterprise revenue is also becoming increasingly significant, with the business reportedly moving toward a point where corporate revenue could approach the scale of consumer revenue.
That diversification matters because sustainable growth becomes less dependent on individual consumer subscriptions.
THE AI REVENUE RACE IS GETTING BIGGER
OpenAI's progress is happening alongside rapid expansion across the frontier-AI industry.
OpenAI and Anthropic together are reportedly approaching an annual revenue run rate of approximately $120 billion, showing that the market is large enough for multiple leading AI companies to scale simultaneously.
Capital is following that growth. AI startups attracted more than $407 billion in venture funding during the first half of 2026, already exceeding the $264 billion raised throughout 2025.
Approximately half of that first-half funding reportedly went toward OpenAI and Anthropic, demonstrating how strongly investors are concentrating capital around leading AI developers.
VALUATION AND CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION
OpenAI's revenue expansion has also coincided with major corporate and financial developments.
The company completed its transition into a Public Benefit Corporation and closed a major funding round earlier in 2026 at a valuation approaching $900 billion.
That combination of rapidly increasing revenue, substantial private-market valuation and corporate restructuring has intensified speculation around a potential future IPO.
MICROSOFT'S NUMBERS ADD ANOTHER SIGNAL
The scale of OpenAI's ecosystem can also be seen through its relationship with Microsoft.
Microsoft disclosed that OpenAI contributed more than $24 billion to its annual revenue, highlighting how deeply AI demand is now connected with the broader technology infrastructure surrounding the company.
The relationship demonstrates that OpenAI's growth is not occurring in isolation. Its expansion has implications for cloud infrastructure, software, enterprise technology and the wider AI supply chain.
WHY $40 BILLION MATTERS
Crossing a $40 billion annualized revenue pace changes the conversation around frontier AI.
The industry is no longer being measured only by model performance, user growth or funding rounds. Revenue generation is becoming an equally important benchmark.
Consumers are paying for AI assistance. Developers are paying for coding and model access. Businesses are increasingly integrating AI into their workflows.
That creates a much stronger commercial foundation for the enormous investment being made in computing infrastructure and AI development.
THE NEXT TEST
The challenge now is maintaining this growth rate while managing enormous computing costs, competition and the expectations attached to an almost $900 billion private valuation.
For OpenAI, $40 billion is therefore not the finish line. It is a new benchmark.
The next stage will be defined by whether rapid AI adoption can translate into sustained revenue growth, stronger enterprise penetration and increasingly durable economics.
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