As a global cryptocurrency exchange with over 59 million users, Gate supports digital-asset trading and blockchain-based financial services worldwide. In 2025, the company launched Gate US, its US-focused exchange, as part of its strategy to bring a localized, compliant digital-asset experience to one of the world’s most important financial markets.
From the beginning, Gate US wanted to offer more than just another crypto exchange. The company saw an opportunity to make digital assets more useful for everyday financial activity by creating a more connected experience across trading, holding, transferring, and spending. One important step was giving customers a simple way to connect the value held in their Gate US account with familiar card-based payments.
“One of the larger problems in crypto is that trading and real-world utility are still disconnected,” said Laura Liu, Chief Operating Officer of Gate US. “Customers may need to withdraw funds, move money between platforms, convert assets, and then use a separate banking or payment product. We saw an opportunity to make that journey much more seamless.”
Challenge
Gate US saw a stablecoin-backed card as a way to close the gap in the customer experience by letting customers easily spend their stablecoin balance. While Gate already offered cards in overseas markets, Gate US quickly learned that the traditional path to launching a card product in the US would require too much time and operational complexity. Gate US initially approached its banking partner about building the card program directly. However, the process would require compliance work, coordination across multiple parties, and more than a year of implementation time—requirements that wouldn’t work for a new, best-in-class crypto exchange.
Gate US needed a partner that could provide an API-first, white-labeled card solution that supported the Gate brand, minimized the engineering lift, and reduced the complexity of managing the underlying issuing infrastructure.
“The US is such an important market, and we needed to move very fast,” Liu said. “If customers can do more with their assets inside the Gate US ecosystem, they have more reasons to maintain a relationship with us.”
Solution
After evaluating three potential card infrastructure providers in early 2026, Gate US selected Bridge, a Stripe company, in just a week. In addition to offering the speed to market that Gate US wanted, Bridge stood out for its stablecoin-native technology, API-first approach, ability to offer a branded card experience powered by Stripe Issuing, and investment in the licensing and compliance infrastructure required to support regulated financial products.
Gate US worked with Bridge and Stripe to build Gate Card, a white-labeled card experience. Gate US worked primarily through Bridge and Stripe, which managed requirements and submissions across Lead Bank, Visa, and other legal and compliance stakeholders. Bridge also assigned dedicated teams to support Gate across engineering and compliance.
“Bridge and Stripe brought together technology infrastructure, program management, banking and payment relationships, and a model that could be integrated into our own customer experience,” Laura said. “That reduced the number of separate relationships Gate US had to build and manage ourselves.”
Through Bridge’s stablecoin infrastructure, eligible Gate US customers can use supported stablecoins to fund purchases, with Bridge handling the underlying conversion and settlement. Gate Card is issued by Lead Bank under a Visa license and can be used anywhere Visa is accepted worldwide. The virtual card is available immediately upon activation and can also be added to Apple Pay and Google Wallet.
Results
Gate US launched Gate Card in about six months, cutting the timeline in half from what its traditional banking partner had estimated. Thanks to Bridge and Stripe, the company was able to bring its card product to market without building the entire issuing and program management infrastructure internally, allowing its engineering team to stay focused on its core exchange offering.
Eligible customers can now use a virtual card that connects their digital assets with everyday spending, which extends the Gate’s relationship with its customers beyond buying, selling, and holding crypto. The company also sees Gate Card as an early step in a broader stablecoin payments strategy, which may include issuing its own stablecoin in the US through Bridge’s stablecoin platform.
Conclusion
By launching Gate Card, Gate US is making it easier for customers to move between digital assets and everyday commerce without leaving the Gate experience. Bridge and Stripe gave Gate US the stablecoin infrastructure and partner coordination it needed to bring a new card program to market quickly while maintaining control of its brand and customer experience.
Bridge is not a bank. The Prepaid Debit Visa Card is issued by Lead Bank and managed by Bridge Ventures, LLC. Fees may apply. See www.bridge.xyz/legal for more details.
The content in this article is for general information and education purposes only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Bridge does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy, or currency of the information in the article. You should seek the advice of a competent attorney or accountant licensed to practice in your jurisdiction for advice on your particular situation.
