- Every program has two geo layers: where the product is available and where you may promote it. Traffic from restricted countries is usually not paid.
- The UK treats crypto marketing as a regulated financial promotion, and the EU's MiCA rules require marketing to be fair, clear and not misleading.
- Expect KYC as an affiliate: Bitget, PrimeXBT and YouHodler all require identity checks before they pay commission.
- Self-referrals, multi-accounting and wash trading are banned almost everywhere and usually lead to forfeited commission.
- Upfront fees, requests for passwords and unexplained drops in approved conversions are the clearest fraud signals.
Why crypto affiliate compliance is your problem too
It is tempting to think compliance belongs to the exchange. The brand holds the licences, writes the risk warnings and runs KYC on its users. In practice, the affiliate agreementAffiliate agreement The contract that sets your commission, allowed traffic, payout rules and the reasons a program can withhold payment. More pushes a large share of the responsibility onto you, and the penalty for getting it wrong is usually unpaid commission or a closed account.
The terms we researched are specific. YouHodler requires affiliates to keep records of campaigns, geo-targeting and commissions for at least five years and to allow audits by the company and regulators. Trezor asks affiliates to keep records of promotional content for 12 months after the agreement ends and to remove content within five business days on request, or 24 hours if urgent. PrimeXBT expects infringing ad keywords removed within 60 minutes of notification. These are not rules for big companies only. They apply to a one-person blog as much as to a media buyer.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, and how they apply depends on where you live, where your audience lives and what you promote. When in doubt, read the regulator’s own pages (linked below) and speak to a lawyer who works with financial promotions.
Crypto affiliate restricted countries: how geo rules work
Every crypto program has two geographic layers. The first is where the product is available: if an exchange does not serve a country, users from there cannot open accounts, and you earn nothing. The second is where you may promote and where you may live as an affiliate. These lists are not always the same.
| Program | Examples of restricted GEOsGEO The country your traffic comes from. Offers, payouts and legal rules all depend on the GEO. More | |---|---| | Bitget | US, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, France, Germany, Austria and others | | PrimeXBT | US, UK, EEA countries, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and others | | BingX | US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Singapore, mainland China and others | | KuCoin | Belgium, Turkey, France, Netherlands | | Hyperliquid | US, Ontario (Canada), sanctioned territories |
Some programs restrict affiliates rather than users. Nexo’s general terms say affiliates must not be resident in the UK. ChangeNOW does not accept US citizens or residents as affiliates. Bitpanda lists the Netherlands as a restricted country for affiliates, and German-resident affiliates may join but may only refer users who live outside Germany. 3Commas prohibits advertising in the European Economic Area altogether.
The rule of thumb: traffic from a restricted country is not paid, and deliberately targeting it can end the partnership. PrimeXBT states that traffic from restricted jurisdictions is not remunerated. YouHodler bans marketing to non-authorised jurisdictions and helping users bypass geofencing with VPNs. Before you build content or buy ads, compare your audience’s countries with the program’s list. If 40% of your readers are in the UK, a program that excludes the UK is worth far less than its headline rate suggests. You can see each program’s restricted regions on its review page, for example the Bitget affiliate program review or the PrimeXBT review.
United States: disclosure rules and the offshore gap
The US has no single crypto marketing rulebook comparable to the UK’s, but two things shape affiliate work. First, availability: most offshore derivatives exchanges exclude US users entirely, so US-heavy audiences fit better with products that serve the US, such as hardware wallets and tax software. Second, consumer protection: the Federal Trade Commission expects endorsements to disclose any material connection, which includes affiliate commissions. Its Endorsement Guides FAQ is the best plain-language starting point.
Sanctions apply everywhere. Most programs, including Ledger and Trezor, screen affiliates against sanctions lists, and the US Treasury’s OFAC sanctions programs are the reference most terms point to.
United Kingdom: the financial promotions regime
The UK is the strictest major market for crypto marketing. Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules, qualifying cryptoassets are treated as restricted mass market investments, and a crypto promotion to UK consumers must be communicated or approved through one of a small number of legal routes. A promotion outside those routes breaches section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act, which is a criminal offence. The FCA’s policy statement PS23/6 sets out the regime, and its statement on common issues with crypto marketing lists typical failures, such as presenting crypto as safe or easy without stating the risks.
Social media is explicitly in scope. The FCA’s guidance on financial promotions on social media (FG24/1) says the size of your following does not change whether a post is a financial promotion. The FCA has also taken legal action against HTX over illegal crypto promotions to UK consumers.
For affiliates, the practical result is simple: many programs refuse UK traffic. Nexo, YouHodler, PrimeXBT and BingX all exclude UK users or UK affiliates in some form. If you target the UK, work only with programs that explicitly accept UK traffic and supply compliant creatives, and do not change their risk warnings.
European Union: MiCA and national rules
In the EU, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCAMiCA The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which licenses crypto providers and sets rules for how crypto is marketed in the EU. More, creates a single licensing regime for crypto-asset service providers. It also requires marketing communications to be clearly identifiable as marketing and to be fair, clear and not misleading. ESMA’s MiCA overview page links to the regulation, registers and guidelines, and ESMA has recommended stricter rules on influencer marketing.
National rules still matter. YouHodler’s terms say Italian campaigns must follow CONSOB crypto advertising rules and may need pre-notification. Some brands serve the EU only through licensed local entities: Nexo notes that in the EEA, custody, trading and futures are provided by licensed partners, which affects what affiliates can promote there. At the other end, the Bitvavo affiliate program is built for the EU, and referred users must live in one of its supported EU/EEA countries.
Other markets at a high level
Canada appears on many restriction lists, including BingX, Bitget, MEXC and BloFin, and Hyperliquid excludes Ontario specifically. Cryptomus’ site is blocked in Canada after a penalty from FINTRAC, the national financial intelligence agency. Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and mainland China are frequently excluded by offshore exchanges. India has local players such as CoinDCX, which serves Indian residents and pays commission in rupees. Sanctioned territories (Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria and Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine among them) are restricted everywhere.
Affiliate disclosures: what FTC-style rules expect
Disclosure rules in most markets follow the same logic as the FTC’s. Say clearly that you earn from the link, put that statement where people see it before they click, and use plain words such as “ad”, “affiliate link” or “I earn a commission”. In videos, say it in the video, not only in the description. A disclosure buried in the footer or behind a “more” link does not count.
Some programs write this into the contract. ELLIPAL requires affiliate links to be labelled #ad or #sponsored before the click. In the UK, the advertising regulator also expects paid content, including affiliate links, to be labelled as advertising upfront. Our guide to building a crypto affiliate website shows how to set up disclosures and compliance pages.
The risks of promoting crypto derivatives
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 and other leveraged products pay the highest commissions because they generate the most fees. They also carry the most risk for your audience and for you. Leverage lets a trader lose their whole deposit in minutes, and regulators treat derivatives promotion more harshly than spot trading. In the UK, the FCA’s current rules ban the sale of crypto derivatives to retail consumers.
Program terms often ban the exact claims that sell leverage. WEEX bans promising guaranteed returns or downplaying risk, and YouHodler bans investment advice, personalised recommendations and webinars without compliance approval. Show losses as clearly as wins, never post screenshots of only winning trades, and do not promote leverage to beginners.
KYC for affiliates
Expect to prove who you are. 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 (know your customer) checks for individuals, and KYBKYB Know your business: company verification some programs require before paying affiliates who work through a legal entity. More (know your business) checks for companies, let programs meet anti-money-laundering and sanctions obligations before they pay you.
The details vary. Bitget does not require KYC to apply, but identity verification is required for its first-tier activation and before withdrawing commission, and cancelling verification drops your rate to 0% from the next month. PrimeXBT lets you register without KYC but requires full KYC or KYB, including ID and proof of address, before partner status and before any payment. The YouHodler affiliate program pays into your own YouHodler wallet, so you must pass its client KYC. Ledger may request ID, proof of address and VAT status, and asks you to invoice it. Changelly and Pionex require verification before withdrawals. Keep your documents ready, and make sure the name on your affiliate account matches your payout details.
Self-referral bans and other quick ways to lose commission
Self-referralSelf-referral Signing yourself, or extra accounts you control, up through your own affiliate link to earn commission. Almost every program bans it. More means signing up or trading through your own link to collect commission on your own activity. Almost every program bans it. Bitget checks for referrals from the same IP address or device and for multiple accounts. BloFin, KuCoin, MEXC, WEEX, Pionex, Cryptohopper and CoinLedger all prohibit it in their terms. Wash trading and abnormal trading by referred users are banned too.
Product programs have their own versions. Ledger can terminate an affiliate when five or more orders through one link ship to the same address, and SafePal excludes orders of more than ten products. Other common breaches include brand biddingBrand bidding Buying search ads on a brand's own name, such as 'Bitget login'. Most crypto programs ban it and can void your commissions. More on paid search, lookalike domains and social accounts, and spam. Read the WEEX affiliate terms for a good example of a detailed list: it also bans poaching other affiliates’ referrals and soliciting users inside official WEEX communities.
Crypto affiliate network fraud: red flags in networks and programs
Most crypto programs and networks are legitimate. A few are not, and crypto attracts more impersonators than most niches. These warning signs should make you stop and verify before sending traffic.
- Upfront fees. A real program does not charge you to join. Pionex states it never asks partners for fees or passwords.
- Requests for credentials. No manager needs your exchange password or your users' logins. WEEX bans affiliates from even requesting user credentials.
- Unofficial contacts. Fake "affiliate managers" on Telegram are common. Verify contacts through the brand's official site; Pionex publishes a verification page for its KOL contacts.
- No written terms. If you cannot read payout rules, restricted traffic and termination clauses before you start, assume they will be decided against you.
- Earnings from recruiting, not from customers. Schemes that pay mainly for recruiting other affiliates are MLM structures, not affiliate programs.
- Moving payout thresholds and repeated delays. A one-off delay happens. A pattern of new conditions each time a payout is due is a warning.
The subtler problem is shavingShaving When a program or network secretly under-reports your conversions to pay you less. Hard to prove, but SubIDs and postbacks help. More: under-reporting conversions so you are paid for fewer users than you sent. You cannot prove it from one bad week, but you can watch for it. Track clicks and sign-ups on your side, compare approval rates per source over time, and if possible run the same offer through two channels, for example directly and via a CPA networkCPA network An affiliate network focused on fixed per-action offers, often with smartlinks and frequent payouts for media buyers. More. A sharp drop in approved conversions with no change in traffic quality deserves a polite question and a request for conversion-level data. Our guide to tracking, postbacks and SubIDs covers the setup you need, and the crypto affiliate networks page lists networks we have researched. For first-hand reputations of networks and managers, the forums and chats in our crypto affiliate communities guide are often the fastest source.
Frequently asked questions
Is crypto affiliate marketing legal?
In most countries promoting crypto products as an affiliate is legal, but the rules depend on where you and your audience are. The UK requires crypto promotions to go through specific legal routes, the EU regulates crypto marketing under MiCA, and many exchanges exclude whole countries. Check the program terms and your local regulator, and get legal advice if you promote at scale.
Which countries are most often restricted in crypto affiliate programs?
The United States appears on almost every derivatives exchange list we researched, including BingX, Bitget, MEXC, BloFin, WEEX, Hyperliquid and PrimeXBT. Canada, Singapore, mainland China, the UK and sanctioned territories such as Iran, North Korea and Cuba are also common. Some EU countries appear too: KuCoin restricts France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Do I need KYC to become a crypto affiliate?
Often yes, at least before payout. Bitget requires identity verification for its first tier and for withdrawals, PrimeXBT requires full KYC or KYB before partner status, and YouHodler requires ID and proof of address. Companies are usually asked for registration documents and invoices.
What is shaving in affiliate marketing?
Shaving is when a network or advertiser quietly under-reports your conversions, so you are paid for fewer users than you actually sent. Typical signs are a sudden fall in approved conversions while your traffic quality is unchanged, and vague answers when you ask for conversion logs.
Can I refer myself in a crypto affiliate program?
No, in nearly every program. Bitget, BloFin, KuCoin, MEXC, WEEX, Pionex, Cryptohopper and CoinLedger all ban self-referrals. Bitget checks for referrals from the same IP address or device, and breaches can cost you all commission.
