From USDT to global stocks: How does Gate connect investment markets in the US, Hong Kong, and South Korea?

In the past, if investors wanted to allocate across digital assets, U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and Korean stocks at the same time, they often had to deal with a fragmented account setup—cryptocurrency exchanges on one platform, U.S. stock brokers on another, and separate brokerage accounts for Hong Kong and Korean equities. Dispersed funds, complicated operations, and high cross-border remittance and exchange costs have long remained key pain points that cross-border investing could not fully solve.

This picture is now being reshaped. As the boundary between digital assets and traditional securities markets gradually blurs, a new wave of platforms combining crypto technology with compliant financial infrastructure is emerging. Gate is a typical example—after officially launching real U.S. stock trading on June 1, 2026, it rolled out Hong Kong stock services on June 11, and then launched Korean stock trading on June 22. In less than one month, Gate connected to the three major global equity markets.

The logic of global asset allocation is shifting from “dispersed management” to “a unified entry point.” Investors no longer need to switch between multiple brokers, nor prepare fiat funds separately for each market. One account, one stablecoin, and one trading system are becoming the foundational paradigm for the next generation of global investing.

What are the pain points of cross-border stock investing?

For years, the barriers to traditional cross-border securities investing have kept a large number of potential investors out.

The complexity of the account-opening process is the primary obstacle. Stock markets in different countries require different broker accounts: investing in U.S. stocks requires a U.S. broker account, investing in Hong Kong stocks requires a Hong Kong broker account, and investing in Korean stocks requires a Korean broker account. The account-opening procedures, review criteria, and funding methods for each account vary, and some regions impose additional identity verification requirements for overseas investors.

High currency-exchange costs are also a major issue. U.S. stock trading is denominated in USD, Hong Kong stocks in HKD, and Korean stocks in KRW. If investors want to invest in all three markets at the same time, they need to convert their funds into three currencies separately, and each exchange involves exchange-rate spreads and fees. Currency fluctuations themselves add another layer of risk—even if the stock price rises, if the investor’s home currency depreciates against the relevant currency, the actual returns may be eroded.

Difficulty in managing multiple accounts further increases the complexity of asset allocation. Assets are spread across different platforms, making it hard for investors to view their overall holdings, consolidate profit and loss, or assess risk exposure. Moving funds between accounts requires back-and-forth transfers, and liquidity management becomes inefficient. For investors who want to dynamically adjust cross-market allocations, this fragmented account system translates into real trading costs.

Trading time restrictions also constrain the participation efficiency of global investors. U.S., Hong Kong, and Korean markets follow different trading hours, and traditional brokers typically support only the regular trading hours of the market where they operate. When major news is released over the weekend or during non-trading hours, investors can only wait passively for the market to open. During that period, the risk of price gaps often cannot be effectively avoided.

How does Gate reduce the barriers to global investment?

The core product logic of Gate Stocks is to buy and sell real stocks directly using USDT. This model compresses the long traditional path—“sell coins → withdraw fiat → cross-border remittance → fund broker account → deposit”—into three steps: “USDT is in the account → transfer to the stock account → buy stocks with one click.” There is no need to exchange currencies, make cross-border remittances, or open additional broker accounts.

A unified account system is the foundation of this model. Gate Stocks uses the same stock-account infrastructure for U.S., Hong Kong, and Korean stocks. Users can complete trading, holdings management, profit and loss queries, and record viewing on a single platform. Digital assets and global securities are managed in a unified account, significantly improving the efficiency of cross-market asset allocation.

Using USDT as the unified settlement medium also addresses the pain points of multi-currency exchange. Users do not need to convert USD, HKD, or KRW themselves; they only need to transfer USDT from a spot account or a unified account to the stock account to participate directly in trading. Hong Kong stocks are priced in HKD and Korean stocks in KRW. Fees and fund settlement are calculated into USDT based on real-time exchange rates and deducted accordingly. This design extends the use case of stablecoins from digital-asset trading into the global stock allocation arena.

Coverage across both App and Web further improves trading convenience. Users can trade directly via the Gate official website’s stock section, or complete operations through the Gate App (requires updating to version v8.25.0 or above) in the TradFi section. No matter where users are, they can participate in global stock investing anytime.

What opportunities do 12,500+ global stock assets bring?

Gate Stocks has already formed a global stock product system covering the three major core markets: the U.S., Hong Kong, and Korea, with a total of over 12,500 stocks and ETFs.

For the U.S. market, Gate supports more than 10,000 stocks and ETFs, covering major U.S. securities trading markets and liquidity networks such as NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, BATS, and others. From tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla to ETFs covering AI, semiconductors, finance, consumer and other sectors, users can access nearly all core assets of the U.S. capital market on a single platform.

For the Hong Kong market, Gate has launched more than 1,500 Hong Kong stock listings, covering high-quality companies with leading market capitalization and strong liquidity on the Hong Kong exchange’s Main Board and Growth Enterprise Market. Representative companies include Tencent Holdings, Xiaomi Group, and Meituan. Industry coverage includes multiple core areas such as technology and the internet, finance, new energy, telecommunications, consumer sectors, and biopharmaceuticals.

For the Korean market, Gate officially launched Korean stock trading services on June 22, 2026. In the first phase, it listed stocks ranked in the top 1,000 by market capitalization on the Korean exchange (KRX), covering both the KOSPI main board and the KOSDAQ market. The initial popular listings include Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, NAVER, Hyundai Motor, and others. As an important capital market in Asia, Korea’s stock market has a number of internationally influential listed companies in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, and advanced manufacturing.

From an industry-track perspective, the assets covered by Gate Stocks have fully reached today’s growth-potential investment directions, including AI, semiconductors, new energy vehicles, and consumer internet. Investors can build allocations to U.S. tech giants, China’s leading internet companies, and Korea’s semiconductor industry on the same platform, achieving true diversified allocations across markets and across industries.

How does fractional-share trading lower the investment threshold?

For a long time, the high share prices of global leading companies have naturally kept small and medium investors out. U.S. stocks such as NVIDIA, Tesla, and Apple are priced at hundreds of dollars per share, and Korean stocks such as Samsung Electronics are also expensive—buying a full share is not easy for investors with limited capital.

Gate Stocks supports fractional-share trading with an initial order starting from as low as 0.01 share. Users can participate with amounts as low as $1 to invest in top global companies. This mechanism enables small amounts of capital to access quality assets such as Apple, NVIDIA, Tesla, Tencent Holdings, and Samsung Electronics, significantly lowering the capital threshold for global stock investing.

The value of fractional-share trading is not only “being able to afford it,” but also “being able to allocate effectively.” Investors can control the position weight for each individual stock more precisely, adjusting the proportion of holdings flexibly according to their risk preferences and asset-allocation plans, rather than being forced into rough fund allocation on a whole-share basis. For investors who want to diversify across different markets and different industries, fractional-share trading provides higher capital efficiency and greater allocation flexibility.

What kind of global asset platform is Gate building?

From launching real U.S. stock trading on June 1, 2026, to introducing Hong Kong stock services on June 11, and then launching Korean stock trading on June 22, Gate completed connections to the three major global equity markets within less than one month. This intensive product-iteration cadence clearly outlines Gate’s strategic path of evolving from a cryptocurrency exchange into a multi-asset allocation platform.

In terms of trading hours, Gate Stocks officially supports 7×24 trading starting June 22, 2026. Building on pre-market, regular, and after-hours trading in the existing schedule, it added support for an overnight session and weekend market closures, fully covering the three markets: the U.S., Hong Kong, and Korea. In the first batch, 215 trading listings are opened in total, including 195 U.S. stocks, 17 Hong Kong stocks, and 3 Korean stocks. No matter what time zone users are in, they can capture global market movements at any time, effectively avoiding the risk of price gaps at the next day’s open caused by major events occurring during non-trading hours—helping global investing truly enter an “always-responsive” era.

On costs, Gate Stocks has fully integrated a VIP tier system. Users only need to hold $2,000 in positions to qualify for VIP, enjoying an exclusive lowest stock-trading fee rate of 0.023% and 1V1 customer manager services. This mechanism allows both high-frequency traders and long-term holders to obtain cost advantages that match their trading scale. Especially for investors with regular dollar-cost averaging or cross-market rebalancing needs, long-term differences in fee rates will significantly affect overall investment returns.

In terms of asset characteristics, Gate Stocks provides only real, compliant stock and ETF assets, not tokenized products or contracts for difference. Behind each share purchased is real asset support that is independently held in custody through the DTC system (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation). During the holding period, users automatically enjoy full shareholder rights, including rights to cash dividends, stock splits, and corporate actions such as rights issues. Users can view and manage holdings, profit and loss, fund transaction history, and corporate-action information in a unified manner within their account, and related earnings are automatically credited according to platform rules. This underlying asset structure not only safeguards the legality of rights, but also enables long-term investors to obtain the same level of safety assurance and profit attribution as traditional brokerages when navigating market cycles.

Conclusion

Global asset allocation is undergoing a structural transformation from “dispersed management” to “a unified entry point.” Gate Stocks uses USDT as the settlement medium, a unified account as the infrastructure, and a pool of more than 12,500 global stock assets to build an all-in-one allocation platform covering both digital assets and global securities.

From 7×24 trading to fractional shares with a minimum order starting from 0.01 share; from U.S. stocks and Hong Kong stocks to Korean stocks—Gate is gradually bridging the connection channels between traditional finance and digital assets. As global investors’ demand for cross-market and multi-asset allocation continues to grow, this multi-asset allocation model built on stablecoins as a bridge and unified accounts as the base is becoming the fundamental infrastructure for the next generation of global investing.

In the future, Gate will continue expanding into more international markets and additional high-quality asset categories, further enriching its global stock product matrix. From crypto assets to global stocks, the experience of investing across global markets with one account is becoming a reality.

FAQ

Does Gate Stocks support 7×24 hours of trading? What specific time coverage is available?

Gate Stocks, on top of pre-market, regular, and after-hours trading, additionally supports an overnight session and weekend trading hours. It now fully covers 7×24 trading for U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and Korean stocks. No matter which time zone users are in, they can respond to market changes at any time, without being restricted by traditional exchange opening hours. The first batch includes 215 trading listings, consisting of 195 popular U.S. stocks, 17 Hong Kong stocks, and 3 Korean stocks.

What is the minimum funding requirement for investing in Gate Stocks?

Gate Stocks supports fractional-share trading with an initial order starting from as low as 0.01 share. Small amounts of capital can also be used to invest in global leading companies such as Apple, NVIDIA, Tencent Holdings, and Samsung Electronics, significantly lowering the funding threshold for global stock investing.

How are trading fees for Gate Stocks calculated?

Gate Stocks has fully integrated a VIP tier system. Users only need to hold $2,000 in positions to qualify for VIP and enjoy an exclusive fee rate as low as 0.023%. Gate Stocks is a spot-trading platform and does not involve funding rates, overnight holding fees, or swap fees. Its cost structure is consistent with traditional brokerage accounts, making it suitable for long-term position allocation.

Are Gate Stocks real stocks or tokenized assets?

Gate Stocks provides real, compliant stock and ETF assets, not tokenized products or contracts for difference. Each share is backed by real assets held in custody through the DTC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) system. During the holding period, users automatically enjoy full shareholder rights, including corporate-action rights such as cash dividends, stock splits, and rights issues.

How can I buy and sell global stocks with USDT on Gate?

Users only need to transfer USDT from their spot account or unified account to the stock account to directly participate in trading for U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and Korean stocks. There is no need to separately open a traditional brokerage account, nor do users need to convert USD, HKD, or KRW themselves. Hong Kong stocks are priced in HKD and Korean stocks in KRW; fees and settlement are converted into USDT based on real-time exchange rates and deducted accordingly. Digital assets and global securities are managed centrally within a unified account.