How to read these grades: each is derived from published, checkable disclosures — proof-of-reserves attestations, public regulatory registers, disclosed insurance funds and the documented incident record — using the weighted rubric below. Where an exchange does not disclose something, we mark it unverified rather than assume it. These are not audits and not investment advice; they reflect what was published as of our last review.
Gate.io
Gate.io holds a Malta MiCA authorisation and an EU payment-services licence, and has published Merkle-tree plus zk-SNARK proof of reserves with Armanino LLP involved since October 2022, though only its U.S. entity's figures come from a primary source.
BySafety DeskSenior Exchange Safety Editor
Our Gate.io review
Gate.io has been publishing reserve proofs for longer than most of this corpus has existed, and it is still the case that the only figure we could confirm at source belongs to its U.S. entity. A C is what that gap between programme and evidence costs.
What checks out
Reserve proofs have run since around May 2020 using a combined Merkle-tree and zk-SNARK method, with third-party involvement from Armanino LLP since 19 October 2022. On the licensing side, the Malta MFSA granted a MiCA CASP authorisation on 29 September 2025 covering 6 of the 10 service categories, followed by a PSD2 payment-services licence from 26 February 2026. We found no confirmed platform-level breach; Gate claims a 13-year record without one and holds ISO 27001 certification alongside a CER.live AA rating of 88/100.
Where the evidence stops
Only the U.S. entity's 100% reserve ratio is primary-sourced. The global platform's reported 124% comes from third parties, which makes the headline number a report about a report. The roughly 95% cold-storage figure is in the same position — reported by third parties, not published by Gate. Its own licences page lists a Gibraltar GFSC DLT licence and a TCSP registration without registration numbers we could check against a register, and no insurance or safety fund is disclosed at all. Access is restricted from roughly 30 to 34 countries, including the U.S., the UK, Canada and most of Western Europe, so for many readers the practical question is settled before the grade is.
How to read the grade
This is a venue with real, dated, checkable European authorisations and a reserve programme whose numbers mostly reach you second-hand. The C reflects the distance between the two.
Grade breakdown
Every KripZen grade comes from the same five weighted checks. Here is how Gate.io scores on each.
- Proof of reservesWeight 30%
Has published proof of reserves since around May 2020 using a combined Merkle-tree and zk-SNARK method, with third-party involvement from Armanino LLP since 19 October 2022; only the U.S. entity's 100% ratio is primary-sourced, and the global platform's reported 124% ratio comes from third parties.
What this means → partial or unverified - CustodyWeight 25%
Roughly 95% of assets in cold storage is reported by third parties, but Gate publishes no cold/hot split we could confirm from a primary source.
What this means → partial or unverified - RegulationWeight 20%
Malta MFSA MiCA CASP authorisation granted 29 September 2025 covering 6 of the 10 service categories, and a PSD2 payment-services licence from 26 February 2026, alongside a Gibraltar GFSC DLT licence and a TCSP registration listed on its own licences page without registration numbers we could check; access is restricted from roughly 30–34 countries including the U.S., UK, Canada and most of Western Europe.
What this means → partial or unverified - InsuranceWeight 15%
No insurance or safety fund is publicly disclosed. That is a statement about what Gate discloses, not a finding that it is uninsured — but an undisclosed fund is one a user cannot rely on.
does not meet this factor - Incident historyWeight 10%
No confirmed major security incident found in our research; Gate claims a 13-year record with no platform-level breach, and holds ISO 27001 certification alongside a CER.live AA rating of 88/100.
meets this factor