Only Exchanges
Crypto exchanges are expanding into stocks, payments and broader financial services as traditional institutions move deeper into digital assets. As their products converge, the distinction between a crypto exchange and an exchange may be disappearing.
During the October 6 closing panel at the CoinFerenceX conference, "The Next Cycle: Bold Predictions for 2027," Gate Chief Marketing Officer Kyle Chiu predicted that cryptocurrency exchanges would cease to exist as a distinct category. He stated:
"By 2027, the category of 'crypto exchanges' will cease to exist. There will only be exchanges."
When asked about the prediction in an interview with KASmedia on November 6, Chiu said the change was already visible at Gate:
“We have evolved so much that we are offering [a] wide enough of a spectrum of products that we are an exchange. […] So we no longer call ourselves a crypto exchange. Now we're an exchange or like an all-in-one financial platform or like a super app.”
Gate's own expansion illustrates the shift. On October 7, the company introduced Gate Money, which combines fiat accounts, digital assets, stocks, card payments, and yield products in a single account. Chiu said the shift started in 2025 and has since accelerated.
Likewise, established financial-market operators are increasingly integrating digital assets into their existing infrastructure as well.
If cryptocurrency exchanges and traditional financial institutions increasingly offer the same products, what will distinguish them?
Gate is not alone in expanding its offerings beyond cryptocurrency trading. Other exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto.com, and Bitpanda, have also introduced access to traditional financial assets.
Coinbase has similarly outlined plans to become an "everything exchange," bringing multiple asset classes together through a single platform. In a January 1, 2026 post on X outlining the company's priorities for the year, CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the “Goal is to make Coinbase the #1 financial app in the world.”
A similar expansion is underway among traditional financial institutions. Brokerage firms such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab now offer direct spot cryptocurrency trading to eligible US customers, alongside cryptocurrency-linked investment products such as ETFs.
Major stock and derivatives exchanges, including Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, and CME Group, are also expanding their involvement in digital assets through crypto exchange-traded products, futures, and tokenization initiatives.
Cryptocurrency is also becoming available well beyond exchanges and brokerages. Payment apps such as PayPal, Cash App, and Revolut allow customers to purchase select digital assets. Bitcoin can even be purchased at physical ATMs, making access to cryptocurrency less dependent on traditional trading platforms.
If you can purchase cryptocurrency on many financial applications, does that make them a cryptocurrency app?
As cryptocurrency exchanges and traditional financial institutions increasingly offer similar services, Timothy C. May's 1988 Crypto Anarchist Manifesto offers an interesting historical perspective. May, a pioneer of the cypherpunk movement, anticipated that cryptographic technologies would fundamentally reshape existing economic institutions:
“Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions.”
For more from Gate CMO Kyle Chiu on the exchange's evolving strategy and the future of digital finance, watch our full interview at KASmedia.com.
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