Gate launches USDT settled U.S. stock options and…

How does Gate launch U.S. stock options products?

Cryptocurrency exchange Gate further expanded into traditional markets and launched U.S. stock options services. Eligible users can trade call and put options on nine large U.S. companies without leaving their existing app. The service was launched on September 2, and related option targets include Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Meta Platforms, Ultraway Semiconductor, Micron Technology, Amazon, Alphabet and Broadcom. Gate said it plans to gradually add more stocks and ETF options in the future. Users need to install the latest version of the Gate app and activate a stock account, but there is no need to open a separate U.S. brokerage account or margin account for options services. Traders choose call or put options, set expiration dates and strike prices, pay corresponding premiums, and track positions through Gate's options interface. Initial trading is limited to regular U.S. market trading hours, which is 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Gate currently does not offer pre-or after-hours trading for this option product. The front-end experience is similar to cryptocurrency products, but the contracts rely on traditional U.S. securities infrastructure.

Gate?

Gate will not deliver shares when options are exercised or expire in the money. Instead, customers 'positions are settled in cash in USDT, with Gate paying the applicable difference in accordance with its product rules. This means that users do not need to hold enough cash to purchase the underlying stocks needed to exercise, nor will they receive shares deposited into their Gate account. As a result, this structure is significantly different from the standard customer experience of U.S. stock options, where exercise and assignment usually involve the delivery or receipt of the underlying stock. Gate also uses a settlement schedule that differs from the official market close. The exchange said settlements are processed about 30 minutes before official settlement times to accommodate its so-called upstream brokerage settlement arrangements. Settlement value is based on the average price of the underlying stock during that 30-minute period, not the final transaction price or the stock price at the official settlement point. This distinction can be important for options close to the strike price. If there are sharp fluctuations in the last 30 minutes of the trading session, Gate's settlement value may differ significantly from the official closing price that traders see from other channels.

The most important feature of

is not the superficial promotion of zero commission. Gate settles positions with USDT, does not deliver stocks, and calculates the settlement price before the official close, thus forming a different income structure from traditional U.S. stock options.

Who is the upstream broker behind this product?

Gate admitted that there was an upstream broker involved in the settlement process, but neither its launch announcement nor option documents specified the service provider. This omission is noteworthy because Gate has previously disclosed some of the infrastructure that supports its broader U.S. equity business. The exchange began offering direct trading of U.S. stocks and ETFs in June, before Alpaca announced a partnership covering U.S. stocks, IPO access and tokenized stocks. However, there is currently no public information confirming whether the partnership extends to Gate's new options services. The current document does not identify Alpaca or any other brokerage firm as a provider of infrastructure for processing options. This is in contrast to Binance's recent entry into the U.S. stock options market: Alpaca publicly announced on September 1 that it would provide technical support for Binance's products, making the brokerage relationship clear from the beginning of its launch. The reason why Gate's provider identity is important is that the brokerage level may be involved in market access, order execution, option authority, clearing relationships and exercise processing. Understanding which company performs these functions will help to more clearly define the boundaries between Gate's own role and the regulated securities infrastructure.

What does Gate's expansion into traditional finance mean for traders?

Gate regards price as its core selling point. The exchange currently does not charge platform fees, option commissions, and exercise and assignment fees, but customers still have to pay pass-through fees from U.S. regulatory and clearing agencies. Buy transactions currently carry a fee of approximately US$0.0373 per contract, including OCC clearing fees, options supervision fees and comprehensive audit trail fees. Sell transactions include the above fees, plus SEC fees based on option royalties and FINRA trading activity fees. Gate said these fees will be passed on directly to customers without a price increase. These fees further indicate that although the product uses USDT as a funding and settlement tool, it relies on traditional market infrastructure. Prior to this launch, Gate's traditional asset products have expanded rapidly. Since launching U.S. stocks on June 1, the company has expanded into Hong Kong stocks and promoted services covering more than 11500 equity-related instruments in both markets. The launch of options products extends this strategy from pure equity exposure to leveraged, time-limited derivatives. Customers can increasingly easily switch between cryptocurrencies, stocks and stock options in a space where cryptocurrencies are the funding environment. However, for traders, structure itself is as important as convenience. Unanswered brokerage questions, USDT cash settlement and the use of the pre-close pricing window mean that Gate's products should not be automatically considered identical to regular U.S. stock options held by traditional brokers. Gate is making Wall Street products look more like cryptocurrency products at the interface level. The launch also shows that the underlying brokerage mechanism has not disappeared, but has just become less conspicuous to customers.