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anchored·2NhbHE…oqr7Summary
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
11 entities · 60 linked investigations- Monero→mentioned with→Kraken(70%)
- KuCoin→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
- Monero→mentioned with→ZachXBT(65%)
- KuCoin→mentioned with→Ethereum(60%)
- ZachXBT→mentioned with→Ethereum(70%)
- ZachXBT→mentioned with→Kraken(60%)
- MEXC→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
- Gate.io→mentioned with→Bitfinex / Tether(60%)
- Gate.io→mentioned with→MEXC Exchange(80%)
- Gate.io→mentioned with→North Korea Lazarus Group — H1 2026 Systematic Crypto Theft Campaign(80%)
- + 11 more
Timeline(13 events)
April 2013
Han Lin founds Bter.com cryptocurrency exchange in China
February 2015
Bter.com hacked for 7,170 BTC (approximately $1.75 million) from cold wallets; breach details never publicly disclosed
2017
Exchange rebrands from Bter.com to Gate.io and relocates to the Cayman Islands following Chinese regulatory pressure
18 April 2018
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
August 2022
U.S. Treasury sanctions Tornado Cash; Gate.io begins delisting privacy coin perpetual contracts in response to AML regulatory pressure
February 2023
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
December 2023
Gate.io daily volume spikes to $4 billion; RATS token community accuses exchange of wash trading and fake volume manipulation
28 December 2023
India's Financial Intelligence Unit issues compliance show-cause notice to Gate.io and eight other offshore exchanges for PMLA violations
10 January 2024
Apple App Store in India blocks Gate.io following FIU noncompliance order; Google Play Store removal follows within days
22 January 2024
Hacken publishes Proof of Reserves audit for Gate.io; reports 115.47% reserve ratio across 170+ currencies
10 December 2024
Indian government formally blocks Gate.io website; users unable to access funds
25 December 2024
Gate.io delists Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZEC), Horizen (ZEN), and Verge (XVG) perpetual contracts citing regulatory scrutiny of privacy coins
4 June 2025
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 (3 events). 23 of 28 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:55:01 AM
last updated: 9/16/2026, 12:50:19 AM
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