- Headline rates are ceilings: Bitget starts approved affiliates at 0%, Binance at 20% spot, OKX at 30%.
- Check commission duration first. Coinbase pays for 3 months, Crypto.com for 180–365 days, MEXC and Bitget for the lifetime of the account.
- Futures traders produce most exchange revenue, but promoting derivatives brings the strictest geo and compliance rules.
- Almost every exchange bans brand bidding in search ads, so SEO, video and communities carry this vertical.
Exchanges are the backbone of crypto affiliate marketing. They pay on something users do every day, trading, so one good referral can earn you money for years. They also run the most confusing commission structures in the industry: tiers that reset every two weeks, rates tied to token holdings, caps on VIP clients and “up to” numbers that only a handful of partners ever reach.
This page explains how to read those structures, compares the programs in our catalog with real numbers, and shows which traffic actually converts for exchange offers.
How crypto exchange affiliate commissions really work
Nearly every exchange pays a revenue share on the trading-feesTrading fees What an exchange charges per trade, usually a small percentage of the trade size. Most exchange affiliate commissions are a share of these fees. More your referrals generate. If a referred user pays 100 USDT in fees and your rate is 40%, you earn 40 USDT. Simple on the surface, but four details change the result.
The fee base. Bybit calculates commission on “trading fee profit”: fees minus market-maker rebates minus bonuses and coupons. BloFin and Binance also work on net fees. OKX pays nothing on trades made with rebate cards, futures credits or contract vouchers. If your audience lives on welcome bonuses, your effective rate drops.
The product mix. Rates often differ between spotSpot trading Buying and selling crypto for immediate delivery — you actually own the coins you buy. The simplest kind of exchange trading. More and futuresFutures Contracts that let traders bet on a coin's price, often with leverage, without owning the coin. They create high volume and high risk. More. Binance’s entry tier pays 20% on spot and 10% on futures. CoinDCX pays up to 30% on INR buy/sell trades and 20% on futures. Gate and HTX also quote different numbers for different products.
The invitee rebate. Most exchanges let you hand part of your rate back to the trader as a fee discount. OKX allows a 0–20% invitee rebate, MEXC up to 20%, BloFin 0–20%. That discount comes out of your share, so a “50%” affiliate who passes 20% back earns 30%.
The clock. Some programs pay for the lifetime of the account (Bitget, MEXC, KuCoin, CEX.IO). Others stop early: Coinbase pays for the first 3 months, Crypto.com for 180–365 days after the customer’s KYCKYC Identity verification: users upload an ID (and often a selfie) before they can trade or withdraw. Many crypto commissions start only after KYC. More, and Bybit can end the relationship once a referred user stops trading for 180 consecutive days.
Starting rate vs headline rate: the comparison that matters
The automatic table above shows each program’s headline. The table below shows where you actually start and what it takes to move up. This is the gap most beginners miss.
| Program | Where you start | Top rate | What unlocks the top rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitget | 0% after approval; 40% after KYC + 10,000 USDT invitee volume in 30 days | 50% | 100 trading users + 150M USDT monthly volume |
| Binance | 20% spot / 10% futures (tier 0) | 50% | Tier 3 in the quarterly evaluation |
| OKX | 30% after 10 valid new users | 50% | Monthly assessment of volume and traders (thresholds not published) |
| KuCoin | 40% with 2 invitees or 166,000 USDT in the first 30 days | 60% | 34 invitees + 6,666,000 USDT (first 30 days), then quarterly checks |
| BloFin | 40% with 1M USDT + 10 traders per 3-month cycle | 50% | 10M USDT + 100 traders per cycle |
| MEXC | Defaults to 50% if upgrade conditions are not met | 70% incl. sub-affiliates | Level 2: 5 new traders + 2,000 MX, or 20,000 MX held |
| CEX.IO | Flat 30%, lifetime | 30% | No tiers; bespoke deals need written approval |
Two patterns stand out. First, volume-gated programs like Bitget and BloFin reward partners who already have an active trading community. A blog that sends 20 casual buyers a month will sit at the bottom tier for a long time. Second, the programs with the lowest entry bar (KuCoin’s LV1, CEX.IO’s flat rate) are the friendliest for new webmastersWebmaster In affiliate marketing, anyone who sends traffic to offers — site owners, bloggers, YouTubers, media buyers. Also called a publisher or affiliate. More, even if their ceilings look smaller.
Downgrades are as automatic as upgrades. KuCoin drops affiliates who miss LV1 for two consecutive quarters to a basic 15%. BloFin moves affiliates who fail the Lvl 1 assessment to the 30% user rate. OKX downgrades after three months below a level, though new affiliates get 5 months of level protection.
Profiles of the leading exchange affiliate programs
Binance: biggest brand, quarterly tiers
Binance’s Referral Pro tiers run from 20% to 50% on spot and margin and from 10% to 50% on futures. Commissions are converted hourly, paid in USDC and land in your Spot account within 6 hours, with no minimum. The catch: spot commissions stop once a referred user reaches VIP 3, and you need at least Tier 1 to hold affiliate status. Its Co-Inviter Program lets affiliates on 30%+ hand up to 40% to partners, which suits community owners with their own sub-affiliatesSub-affiliate An affiliate you recruit into a program. You earn an extra commission on what they bring in, on top of your own direct referrals. More. US users are excluded; they are served by the separate Binance.US.
Bybit: negotiated rates, daily payouts
Bybit’s affiliate program does not publish a rate card. Your rate is set per partner, and the only hard rule is that total rebates on VIP clients are capped at 50%. Payouts arrive daily by 4 AM UTC. Master affiliates earn a 10% override on sub-affiliates. For a head-to-head look at the two largest programs, read Binance vs Bybit affiliate.
OKX: fastest settlement among the majors
OKX starts affiliates at 30% and lifts them up to 50% based on monthly results. Commissions in USDT normally arrive within 1–2 hours of the trade. Eligibility now requires 10 valid new users after you apply, and invitees who register through a paid-ad channel cannot be bound to an affiliate at all.
Bitget, MEXC and KuCoin: lifetime revenue share
These three pay for the lifetime of the referred account and settle daily. Bitget is the strictest on entry (0% until activation). MEXC has the highest ceiling at up to 70% including sub-affiliate commission, but expects affiliates to promote MEXC events at least twice a month. KuCoin has the most forgiving first tier and the same rate for spot and futures.
Futures-first exchanges: BloFin, WEEX, Bitunix and BingX
BloFin settles hourly in USDT and allows sub-affiliate chains 29 levels deep. WEEX advertises up to 70% plus 10% on sub-affiliates; its own example estimates 100 active traders with 5,000 USDT monthly volume each at about 280 USDT a month, a useful reality check. Bitunix pays up to 50% plus an extra 10% on sub-affiliates, daily at 02:00 UTC. BingX re-evaluates partner levels every two weeks and pays commissions in the referee’s fee currency rather than converting to USDT.
Regulated and fiat-first brands
CEX.IO pays a flat 30% of referred users’ fees for the lifetime of the account, with a published 30-day cookieCookie life How long after a click the program still credits you if the visitor signs up or buys. A 30-day cookie gives the user 30 days to convert. More (rare in this category) and rewards valued in USDC at the moment of the trade. Each reward is credited 30–45 days later after a compliance review. Its standard program is explicitly non-commercial, so paid media or revenue-share deals need written approval from the affiliate team first.
Kraken pays up to 50% on its app, Kraken Pro and DEX swaps and 25% on Kraken Prop, with CPA and hybrid deals negotiable on its Impact track. Coinbase pays 50% of fees for only the first 3 months. Gemini pays a flat $25 per new user who trades. Crypto.com offers up to 50% for 180–365 days under country-specific contracts.
Regional and niche picks
For EU audiences, Bitpanda pays up to 20% revenue share with CPA options (but bans PPC and German-resident referrals) and Bitvavo starts at 15% of fees. For India, CoinDCX credits commission daily to an INR wallet. Coinmama pays 15–30% of its own fee, which on its help-center example of a $1,000 purchase means $8.25 at 15%. PrimeXBT runs RevShare from 35% to 55% or CPA up to $1,500, but excludes the US, UK and EEA. On-chain, Hyperliquid pays 10% of referred users’ fees (minus their 4% discount) on their first $1B of volume, once you have traded $10,000 yourself.
Other exchanges we review in full: Gate (up to 80% long-term rebates cited on its futures page), HTX (up to 50% spot and 60% futures, reassessed every 3 months), Phemex (30–60% depending on staked vePT holdings), WhiteBIT (up to 60% under custom terms), BitMart (100% for 6 months at its top tier, then 60%) and Bitfinex, which now pays 18/6/2% of margin funding fees only, because it moved to zero trading fees.
Best crypto exchange affiliate programs by situation
| If you are… | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New, with a small audience | KuCoin, CEX.IO | Low entry bar or flat rate, no volume gate |
| Running a futures trading community | BloFin, Bitget, MEXC | Lifetime rates up to 50–70% for volume |
| Building a sub-affiliate network | Binance, BloFin, Bybit | Co-Inviter, 29-level chains, 10% override |
| Selling to EU beginners | Bitpanda, Bitvavo, Kraken | Fiat payouts, regulated brands |
| Preferring fixed income per user | Gemini, PrimeXBT | $25 CPA or CPA up to $1,500 |
Red flags in crypto exchange affiliate programs
- No written terms. BingX publishes no standalone affiliate T&C, and Bybit’s rate is set privately. Get your rate confirmed in the portal or in writing before you scale.
- Rates tied to a token. MEXC’s Level 2 can be reached by holding 20,000 MX, and Phemex’s rate rises with vePT holdings. You are taking price risk on a token to earn a better commission.
- Headline figures that only apply briefly. BitMart’s 100% lasts 6 months before dropping to 60%. Binance’s tier 0 futures rate is limited to 1 year.
- Payouts as platform credit only. KuCoin, MEXC and BingX credit your exchange account. That is convenient, but your earnings sit on the exchange until you withdraw.
- Programs that changed their revenue model. Bitfinex affiliates lost trading-fee commissions overnight when trading fees went to zero. Many third-party lists still quote the old rates.
Traffic strategies that convert for exchange offers
Brand bidding is the first rule to learn. OKX bans ads on “OKX” keywords on Google, Bing, Yandex, Yahoo and Naver; Bitget, KuCoin, WEEX, PrimeXBT and BloFin ban it too, and Binance forbids posting referral links in search ads at all. Paid searchPPC Paid ads where you pay each time someone clicks, like Google or Bing search ads. Crypto ads face strict platform rules. More is mostly closed, so the traffic that works is earned.
Comparison and fee content. Searchers who type “Bybit vs OKX fees” are already choosing an exchange. Fee tables, withdrawal limits and KYC requirements convert better than generic “best exchange” lists.
Tutorials tied to one action. “How to open a futures position on BloFin” or “How to buy USDT with a card on CEX.IO” end in a sign-up. Use deep linksDeep link An affiliate link that sends the user straight to a specific page — such as a coin's buy page or a promo — instead of the homepage. More to the exact product page when the program allows it.
Trading communities. Telegram and Discord groups produce the active traders that tiered programs reward. Offer an invitee fee rebate here; for frequent traders a 10–20% discount is a stronger hook than any banner.
YouTube walkthroughs. Screen recordings of deposits, order types and copy trading convert well for futures exchanges, as long as you show risk warnings and respect the region rules.
Track every channel separately with sub-IDsSubID An extra label you add to your affiliate link to record where a click came from — a page, banner, ad or Telegram post. More or separate referral links (Bitunix lets one account create up to 20 rebate links), and compare earnings per active trader rather than per sign-up. Our crypto traffic sources guide covers each channel in depth.
Related reading
Start with CPA vs RevShare vs hybrid to decide which model suits your traffic, then read the sub-affiliate programs guide if you plan to recruit other partners. If you are still building your platform, see how to build a crypto affiliate website. Exchanges with bot products overlap with our trading bot affiliate programs, and the full list of brands lives in the program catalog.
Frequently asked questions
Which crypto exchange affiliate program pays the most?
On paper, MEXC and WEEX advertise up to 70% of trading fees and KuCoin up to 60%. In practice the best payer is the one whose top tier you can actually reach: Bitget's 50% needs 100 traders and 150,000,000 USDT in monthly volume, while KuCoin's 40% level unlocks with 2 invitees or 166,000 USDT in your first 30 days.
How do crypto exchange affiliate commissions work?
The exchange keeps a record of every fee your referred users pay on spot, futures and sometimes options trades, then pays you a percentage of those fees. Many calculate it on net fees, after bonuses, vouchers and invitee rebates are deducted. Read our CPA vs RevShare guide for how this compares with flat bounties.
Is there a crypto exchange affiliate program that pays CPA?
Yes, but they are the minority. Gemini pays a flat $25 per new user who places a trade, PrimeXBT offers CPA up to $1,500 per qualified client depending on deposit and country, and Kraken and Bitpanda negotiate CPA or hybrid deals with suitable partners.
Can I promote crypto exchanges to users in the US or UK?
Most offshore exchanges exclude both. Binance, Bybit, MEXC, BloFin and WEEX exclude the US; Bybit and OKX restrict several other markets too. Coinbase's UK affiliate program is closed to new applicants, and CEX.IO's UK referral program is suspended. Check each program's restricted regions and our compliance guide before buying traffic.
How fast do exchange affiliate programs pay?
Faster than any other crypto vertical. Binance converts commissions hourly, BloFin settles hourly in USDT, OKX usually distributes within 1–2 hours, and Bitget, KuCoin and MEXC pay daily. Bitpanda and Crypto.com pay monthly, and CEX.IO credits rewards 30–45 days after the referred trade.
