How to directly buy US stocks with USDT? Gate Stocks is live with 10,000+ US stocks—zero shareholding costs and a full breakdown of four major trading modes

On June 1, 2026, Gate officially launched real stock trading services, allowing users to directly trade stocks and ETFs in the major U.S. securities markets using USDT within the platform. This marks the completion of Gate’s key integration in the traditional finance (TradFi) sector—starting from the introduction of CFD features at the beginning of the year, to the launch of tokenized stocks in March, and now connecting to real stock spot trading. Gate has built a comprehensive framework within a single account system that links digital assets with traditional financial markets.

As of June 2026, Gate supports over 10,000 stocks and ETF assets, covering major U.S. securities exchanges and liquidity networks such as NYSE, Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, and BATS. After completing KYC and regional access, users can buy, hold, and sell stock assets on a unified platform without opening additional U.S. stock accounts or converting fiat currency.

Gate’s Current U.S. Stock Market Access: Real Asset Allocation Channel

Unlike the common “stock tokens” or RWA mapping models in the current market, Gate’s stock trading service directly connects with compliant broker-dealers like Alpaca, which hold U.S. Broker-Dealer licenses and clearing qualifications, providing users with genuine market access rather than on-chain mapped assets or tokenized derivatives. Specifically, this model establishes clear advantages across several dimensions:

Asset Coverage and Depth

Gate’s real stock trading covers over 10,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs, far exceeding the industry’s typical hundreds of stock tokens. The asset range includes major tech stocks like Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), and various sector-themed ETFs, allowing users to buy and sell within a familiar crypto trading interface.

Zero Holding Cost Structure

This is one of Gate’s core differentiators for real U.S. stocks. Compared to perpetual contracts with funding rates and CFD products with swap and overnight fees, Gate’s stock spot trading achieves zero holding costs, making it more suitable for long-term investors seeking to allocate U.S. stocks. Gate’s stock spot has no funding rates, no swap fees, and no overnight fees—making it the only “zero holding cost” U.S. stock trading method in the market.

Independent Account Security Architecture

Gate’s stock accounts use an Omnibus integrated account structure, connecting directly with compliant broker Alpaca, which accesses major U.S. securities markets. Every share of stock bought on Gate is backed by an equivalent, real registered stock asset, held in custody by a SIPC (U.S. Securities Investor Protection Corporation) member broker. Under certain conditions, securities assets are protected up to $500k.

Additionally, Gate’s stock accounts operate on an independent account system, completely separate from derivatives and spot accounts, with funds managed separately. This means that even if a derivatives account is liquidated or a spot account incurs losses, the stock account assets remain unaffected and are not used to cover margin calls.

Simplified Deposit and Withdrawal Process

Users do not need to convert cryptocurrencies into fiat currency or transfer funds to another broker account. They can directly invest in U.S. stocks using their existing USDT balance. Crypto asset holdings and stock investments coexist within the same ecosystem.

Extremely Low Barriers for Fractional Shares

Gate’s stock trading supports fractional shares as low as 0.01 shares, allowing investors to participate in stocks like Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla with less than the full share price. For crypto users holding USDT with smaller capital, this means they can start U.S. stock asset allocation with very low capital thresholds.

Favorable Fee Structure

Gate’s stock spot trading is fully integrated into the platform’s VIP tier system. Users with a minimum of $2,000 in holdings can upgrade to VIP status, enjoying exclusive fee rates as low as 0.023% and personalized 1-on-1 customer service, further reducing the cost of global asset allocation.

Core Differences Among Four Types of U.S. Stock Trading Products on Gate

Gate currently offers four types of U.S. stock trading products: real U.S. stocks, contract-based U.S. stocks (stock perpetual contracts), CFD U.S. stocks, and tokenized U.S. stocks (xStocks, previously known as “Direct Access to U.S. Stocks”). These differ fundamentally in asset attributes, trading hours, leverage mechanisms, and holding costs, and should not be confused.

Real U.S. Stocks (Actual Stock Trading)

• Core Attribute: Users buy actual underlying assets traded simultaneously on NYSE and Nasdaq, holding real ownership certificates, with future support for one-click transfer of stock assets between brokerages.
• Holding Cost: Zero, with no funding rates, swap fees, or overnight fees.
• Trading Hours: Follow traditional stock market trading hours.
• Leverage: Not supported; full purchase spot trading.
• Suitable For: Long-term investors seeking to hold U.S. stocks, dividends, and asset security.

Contract U.S. Stocks (Stock Perpetual Contracts)

• Core Attribute: USDT-settled perpetual derivative contracts based on stock prices, not actual stocks.
• Holding Cost: Perpetual contracts have funding rates, requiring periodic payments or receipts during holding.
• Trading Hours: 24/7 trading without restrictions from pre-market or after-hours.
• Leverage: Supports both long and short positions, with leverage adjustable at order time.
• Suitable For: Short-term trading, leveraging to capture stock price movements, shorting strategies, and flexible 24/7 trading.

CFD U.S. Stocks (Contract for Difference)

• Core Attribute: Settled in USDT or equivalent units, CFDs trade the price difference of stocks, not the actual stocks.
• Holding Cost: CFDs incur swap and overnight fees, with additional costs for overnight positions.
• Trading Hours: 24/7 trading.
• Leverage: Supported.
• Suitable For: Short-term price speculation with leverage, but with lower leverage limits compared to contracts, suitable for moderate risk traders.

Tokenized U.S. Stocks (xStocks / Direct Access)

• Core Attribute: Traditional stock prices mapped to blockchain-based digital tokens, traded on-chain or within crypto exchanges. Holding tokenized stocks does not confer actual ownership or voting rights.
• Holding Cost: Similar to contract stocks, with funding rates and related costs, but with different fee structures from perpetual contracts.
• Trading Hours: 24/7 trading, no restrictions from traditional market hours.
• Leverage: Varies by product; some tokenized stocks support leverage, but with different thresholds than contracts.
• Suitable For: Flexible 24/7 trading, short-term exposure or arbitrage without requiring actual stock ownership.

Quick Comparison Table of the Four Products

| Comparison Dimension | Real U.S. Stocks | Contract U.S. Stocks | CFD U.S. Stocks | Tokenized U.S. Stocks | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Actual Stock Ownership | Yes | No | No | No | | Holding Cost | 0 (no funding/swaps/overnight fees) | Has funding rate | Has swap/overnight fees | Has funding rate | | Trading Hours | Market hours | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | | Leverage Limit | No leverage | Supported | Supported | Varies by product | | Long/Short Trading | Long only | Long/short | Long/short | Long/short | | Asset Custody | SIPC member broker custody | Derivatives within platform | Derivatives within platform | On-chain tokens | | Suitable Audience | Long-term investors | Short-term leveraged traders | Medium-short-term traders | 24/7 flexible traders |

Market Environment and Industry Background

From the industry landscape, Gate’s launch of real stock trading is not an isolated event but a key part of the “everything exchange” trend among crypto exchanges. In 2026, the main traffic growth for mainstream crypto exchanges mainly comes from tokenized U.S. stocks and real-world assets (RWA) on-chain. The scale of tokenized stocks grew from about $32 million at the start of 2025 to nearly $1.68 billion, nearly 50 times year-over-year. The global RWA market, excluding stablecoins, has reached $3.1 to $3.4 billion, over 400% growth since early 2025.

Meanwhile, the integration of traditional finance and crypto assets is accelerating. In January 2026, NYSE announced the development of a blockchain-based tokenized securities trading platform supporting 24/7 trading and stablecoin settlement; Nasdaq has also submitted proposals for rules changes on tokenized securities.

Against this backdrop, Gate’s real stock trading service is not just a product update but a milestone in transforming from a “cryptocurrency trading platform” to a “global multi-asset allocation portal.”

Conclusion

The launch of Gate stocks opens a compliant channel for USDT holders to access the traditional securities market from the digital asset world. Whether long-term investors seeking zero-cost U.S. stock allocation or traders leveraging margin and 24/7 trading for short-term strategies, Gate’s four U.S. stock products—real stocks, contract stocks, CFD stocks, and tokenized stocks—offer diverse risk-return options. Users can choose the most suitable product combination based on their capital, holding period, and risk appetite.