gTrade's proposition is unusual: leveraged exposure to EUR/USD, gold or equity indices, on-chain, with leverage that reaches levels no regulated broker would offer retail. There is no order book and no external liquidity — positions settle against a vault funded by depositors, priced by oracles.
How the vault model works
Traders' profits are paid from the gToken vault, and their losses flow into it. Depositors therefore hold the aggregate opposite side of every open position, earning fees and trader losses over time. The vault publishes a collateralisation ratio; when traders are collectively winning, that ratio falls, and sustained trader profitability is the scenario that stresses the entire system.
Costs
Opening and closing fees run roughly 0.03% to 0.08% depending on the pair, plus a spread and, on some markets, no funding at all — which is why the venue is attractive for positions held longer than a session. Rollover fees apply on leveraged positions. For forex pairs the total cost compares reasonably with retail brokers; for crypto it is competitive rather than cheap.
Risk profile
No protocol exploit on record across four years, with audits and a bug bounty. The structural risks are specific: oracle pricing on thin synthetic markets invites manipulation attempts of the kind that have broken similar designs elsewhere, and the single-vault counterparty model means a bad enough stretch shows up directly in the token backing depositors' claims. Very high leverage also means liquidations are frequent and unforgiving.
Who should use Gains
Traders who specifically want forex, commodity or index exposure on-chain, at moderate size, and who understand the vault mechanics. Anyone trading crypto majors will find better depth and clearer risk on an order-book venue. gToken depositors should treat the position as underwriting a leveraged trading book, because that is precisely what it is.