CEO of Bitget, Gracy Chen, asserted that the world’s first universal exchange (UEX), that its real concentration, must focus on the deeper structural directions occurring across the digital asset ecosystem, most of which are now being led from the Gulf.
In conversation with Gulf Business, Chen stated that the latest market dip and regain attempts can’t be monitored individually.
She added, citing that markets are closely observing clarity from central banks, that “Volatility is nothing particularly new for Bitcoin, but what’s happening now is tightly linked to the macro cycle. When monetary direction is clearer, investors tend to move with more confidence.”
The current consolidation of Bitcoin is between $86,000 and $94,000, which highlights warnings instead of capitulation, and its correlation with equities signifies that macro headlines are issued instantly through crypto valuations.
In the upcoming circumstances, Chen witnesses the upcoming year structured by macroeconomic directions and a robust growth of institutional access.
Even though the Federal Reserve begins with rate reductions in 2026, she expects that Bitcoin could rebound to the $95,000 to $100,000 range, backed by improving liquidity situations. She brings out the increasing rotation shifts between asset classes as an illustration of a more mature investor base.
Chen added that “Bitcoin ETF outflows have cooled… while Ethereum ETFs are seeing coordinated inflows. This type of rotation is a sign that investors are increasingly treating crypto as an allocatable asset class rather than a single-asset trade. The recent entry of major global players reinforces this trend. When large players like Vanguard set aside long-held positions and enter the Bitcoin ETF market with extraordinary trading volumes from day one, it feels like a foregone conclusion.”
This dynamic landscape is a hub for Bitget’s UEX model, which plans to eliminate the fragmented experience, which has been referred to as the trading journey for retail and institutional users.
She stated that “The Universal Exchange model is our response to how fragmented the trading experience has become.”
Currently, users move between centralized exchanges, decentralized protocols, on-chain tools, and traditional brokers, each with its own interface, liquidity, and settlement regulations.
Bitget’s step undermines these landscapes, where traders can access CEX-grade liquidity, DEX-style transparency, and traditional instruments in one place.
Chen reported that “User expectations have changed. Traders want optionality without friction. Institutions want compliant access at scale. And the technology is now mature enough to make a unified model possible.”
Chen claims that this convergence might solve the long-standing gaps, which neither CEXs, DEXs, nor traditional finance have been able to address.
CEXs offer significant execution, also require trust, as DEXs issue transparency but face slippage and efficiency problems, and TradFi majorly remains disconnected from digital assets.
The Universal Exchange model eliminates these silos, building an environment in which money moves more independently, and the operation of risk management across on-chain and off-chain assets.
This shift aligns with the momentum in the Middle East, which Chen observes as entering a new phase of leadership in the international crypto environment. She projects that the region is currently far beyond the “emerging hub” label.
“It’s fairer to say that MENA is well past the point of being an ‘emerging’ hub. Now it’s actively becoming a leading one,” she says. Adoption is being driven by a strong appetite for new investment models, tech-forward demographics, and regulators who see digital assets as part of long-term economic strategy. “Governments in MENA countries, like the UAE or Saudi Arabia, genuinely seem to view digital assets as part of national economic strategies, not fringe experiments,” she adds.
As of Bitget, trust and compliance, the foundation of its strategy for high-growth markets like the GCC. Chen explains that the use of transparency, robust security architecture, proof-of-reserves, localised services, and institution-grade infrastructure.
Chen mentioned that “Trust is built through consistent quality of service, transparency, and integrity. For Bitget, growth isn’t just about acquiring more users. It’s about building long-term confidence in the ecosystem we’re building.”
Thus, Chen estimates that the future of global finance stands in the coexistence but not in competition between crypto, DeFi, and traditional financial systems.
Chen further added that “Crypto offers innovation and flexibility, DeFi offers transparency, and TradFi offers long-standing structure, scale, and trust. Bitget’s Universal Exchange was designed to bridge these worlds and allow them to reinforce one another. The future of finance is heading towards interoperability and efficiency, where all experiences are user-driven above all else. And Bitget’s desire is to help build that world from the frontlines.”
