1 hour ago
12
Gracy Chen doesn’t just want to run a crypto exchange. She wants to run the exchange, one that makes the distinction between traditional finance and crypto feel like a relic from a previous era.
Since taking over as CEO of Bitget in May 2024, Chen has been pushing the platform toward what the company calls a “Universal Exchange,” or UEX. The concept is straightforward: instead of forcing users to hop between platforms to trade crypto derivatives, spot tokens, tokenized stocks, ETFs, and real-world assets, Bitget wants to be the single venue where all of that happens under one roof.
The numbers backing the pivot
Bitget’s recent growth figures suggest the strategy is gaining traction, particularly among institutional players. The platform reported a 452% month-over-month increase in tokenized US stock spot trading volume by late 2025. Futures trading on tokenized equities climbed even more dramatically, posting a 4,468% surge over the same period.
Over 80% of that activity is coming from institutional participants. The platform now claims a global user base of 120 to 125 million.
From derivatives shop to financial supermarket
Bitget’s origin story is rooted in crypto derivatives. The platform now offers spot and derivative cryptocurrency trading alongside tokenized US stocks, ETFs, stablecoins, and real-world assets.
Chen has framed the competitive landscape not as a battle between centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized ones (DEX), but as a convergence. Bitget’s wallet product, which supports over 130 blockchains, reflects that philosophy. The Bitget Wallet has carved out a position as a leading decentralized wallet in Asia.
At Hong Kong FinTech Week in November 2025, Chen laid out her ambition to make Bitget a one-stop bridge between traditional and decentralized finance.
A deliberate geographic strategy
The company has deliberately avoided the US market. Instead, Chen has focused Bitget’s expansion efforts on Latin America, seeking local partnerships to build market share in a region where crypto adoption has been surging.
What this means for the broader exchange landscape
The institutional concentration in Bitget’s tokenized stock trading volumes is worth watching closely. If the 80% institutional ratio holds as volumes continue growing, it signals that professional money managers are becoming comfortable treating tokenized equities as functionally equivalent to their traditional counterparts.
Chen’s background in business management and her stated commitment to diversity in the blockchain industry add a dimension to Bitget’s story that goes beyond product strategy.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
English (US) ·