Summary
Gate.io (formerly Bter.com) is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2013 by Han Lin, serving over 30 million users across 224 countries. The exchange has been flagged by on-chain investigator ZachXBT for allegedly concealing a $230 million hack attributed to North Korean state-sponsored hackers (Lazarus Group) that occurred in April 2018 and was never publicly disclosed to users. Additional concerns include a manipulated futures price feed incident causing millions in user losses in 2025, an AML-based ban by India's Financial Intelligence Unit in 2024, persistent user complaints about frozen withdrawals, and alleged wash trading activity inflating reported volumes.
Connected Entities
2 entities · 1 linked investigation- + 4 more
Connected Through
1 shared actor · 1 investigationDistinct actors this investigation shares with others — holders, traders, and named parties. Shared infrastructure (exchanges, pools) is excluded.
- □Gate.ioorganizationalso inGate.io·57
Timeline(13 events)
2013-04-01
Han Lin founds Bter.com cryptocurrency exchange in China
2015-02-01
Bter.com hacked for 7,170 BTC (approximately $1.75 million) from cold wallets; breach details never publicly disclosed
2017-01-01
Exchange rebrands from Bter.com to Gate.io and relocates to the Cayman Islands following Chinese regulatory pressure
2018-04-18
Gate.io allegedly hacked for approximately $234 million (10,778 BTC, 218,790 ETH, and other assets); attributed by on-chain investigators to North Korea's Lazarus Group; breach never publicly disclosed to users
2022-08-01
U.S. Treasury sanctions Tornado Cash; Gate.io begins delisting privacy coin perpetual contracts in response to AML regulatory pressure
2023-02-01
ZachXBT publishes on-chain investigation revealing Gate.io's alleged concealment of the 2018 hack; North Korean hackers move 1,944.72 ETH ($3.2 million) from dormant 2018 theft address
2023-12-01
Gate.io daily volume spikes to $4 billion; RATS token community accuses exchange of wash trading and fake volume manipulation
2023-12-28
India's Financial Intelligence Unit issues compliance show-cause notice to Gate.io and eight other offshore exchanges for PMLA violations
2024-01-10
Apple App Store in India blocks Gate.io following FIU noncompliance order; Google Play Store removal follows within days
2024-01-22
Hacken publishes Proof of Reserves audit for Gate.io; reports 115.47% reserve ratio across 170+ currencies
2024-12-10
Indian government formally blocks Gate.io website; users unable to access funds
2024-12-25
Gate.io delists Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZEC), Horizen (ZEN), and Verge (XVG) perpetual contracts citing regulatory scrutiny of privacy coins
2025-06-04
Gate.io launches $LA perpetual futures using a price index that incorporated an illiquid KuCoin market; price spikes 4,000% from approximately $0.60 to $25; mass user liquidations occur; thousands allege fraud; Gate.io offers 30 million USDT compensation only for negative-balance accounts, not liquidated users
Decision Log
- hash: z3X53TXfeN3fhKnGVFAVDfKApfkwCZP2Pm2FDiHtXru
- hash: HAEZTZiWNKXzd6ynSGbi1uwpswek9x74txv4gpJwmuky
- hash: y3hNFHobrVbrTifCL3K2arB8ELBPx5bJUJ5SjSJSuXb
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:55:01 AM
last updated: 6/14/2026, 11:16:18 PM
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