Crypto affiliate programs, compared on real terms

What crypto affiliate programs are

A crypto affiliate program pays you for sending customers to a crypto business. You get a tracked link or code, you publish it where the right people will see it, and when someone signs up and does something the brand values, you earn a commission. That “something” depends on the product: trading on an exchange, buying a hardware wallet, paying for a trading bot subscription, swapping coins or filing a crypto tax report.

Most of the money in this niche comes from exchanges, and they work differently from a typical software or ecommerce program. Instead of a one-off fee per sale, an exchange usually pays you a share of 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, often for as long as their account keeps trading. One active trader can keep generating commission for as long as they keep trading. That is why exchange affiliates care about who they bring in, not just how many.

Crypto affiliate programs also differ from simple referral programs. A referral program is a feature for existing users: you share a code with friends and get a small, often capped reward. Bybit’s user referral program, for example, pays for 365 days and is capped at $5,000 per referrer per quarter. An affiliate program is built for publishers, creators and communities. It has an application, its own dashboard, higher or longer-lasting rates, and a stricter rulebook. The crypto affiliate networksAffiliate network A platform that connects many advertisers with many affiliates and handles tracking, reporting and payouts in one account. More (Impact, CJ, FlexOffers and others) add a third layer: one account and one payout for many brands at once.

How this directory compares crypto affiliate programs

Every program on this site is described with the same set of fields, pulled from the brand’s official affiliate page, terms and FAQ. When a number is not published, we say “Not disclosed” rather than guess. The full process is on the methodology page; here is what each metric tells you and why it matters.

A few of these need extra context. Cookie lifeCookie 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 matters less on exchanges than you might expect: most bind the user to you through the referral code at registration, so the cookie window is often not even published. It matters a lot for hardware wallets and software, where people read a review, leave, and buy days later.

Payout frequencyPayout frequency How often the program pays you: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or on request. More and minimum payoutMinimum payout The smallest balance you must earn before the program pays you. Earnings below it usually roll over to the next period. More decide your cash flow. A daily USDT settlement with no minimum is very different from a monthly bank transfer that only goes out above $2,000, which is YouHodler’s threshold for SWIFT.

Traffic rules are where most affiliates lose money. Many programs ban 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 (buying ads on the brand’s own name), coupon and cashback sites, or posting links in referral-code forums. Break those rules and commissions are clawed back. Sub-affiliateSub-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 programs pay you a second-tier cut on affiliates you recruit, and 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 rules tell you whether you need to verify your identity before you can join or withdraw.

The top 10 crypto affiliate programs, explained

The ranking table above lists ten programs that combine a long commission window, published terms and payouts you can withdraw. They cover exchanges, a hardware wallet, a crypto lending platform and a trading bot, so the list is not just ten exchanges in a row. Here is what each one actually pays and where the catch is. There are no scores: compare the terms against your own traffic.

CEX.IO

CEX.IO’s affiliate program pays a flat 30% of the trading fees your referrals pay, for the lifetime of the referred account, with no tiers to climb and a 30-day cookie. Any customer with Identity-level verification can generate a link; there is no application review for the standard offer. Rewards are valued in USDC when the referred trade completes and credited 30–45 days later after a compliance review. Commercial deals, such as paid media or custom revenue share, need separate written approval, and the program is suspended for UK residents.

Binance

The Binance affiliate program uses quarterly tiers: spot and margin pay 20%, 30%, 41% or 50%, futures 10%, 30%, 40% or 50%. Commissions are converted every hour and land in your Spot account in USDC within 6 hours, with no minimum. To qualify you need 5,000+ followers, a 3,000+ member community or 10,000+ users or daily visits. Spot commissions stop once a referred user reaches VIP 3, and posting referral links as search ads is banned.

Bybit

Bybit’s affiliate program shares a cut of “trading fee profit” (fees minus market-maker rebates and bonuses) for the lifetime of the account, although a referral can be released after 180 days without trading. Your rate is set individually and not published; the only public figure is a 50% cap on the total rebate for VIP clients. Payouts arrive daily by 4 AM UTC, and master affiliates earn a 10% override on their sub-affiliates. For a side-by-side view, see the Binance vs Bybit affiliate comparison.

OKX

OKX’s affiliate program starts at 30% of invitees’ fees on spot, futures and options and can rise to 50% after monthly reviews of volume and active invitees. Commissions arrive in USDT, usually within 1–2 hours of the trade. You unlock affiliate status after referring 10 valid new users, and identity verification is required before any commission is paid. Bidding on OKX brand keywords on Google, Bing, Yandex, Yahoo or Naver is banned.

Kraken

Kraken’s affiliate program pays up to 50% revenue share across the Kraken app, Kraken Pro spot, margin and futures, and DEX swaps, plus 25% on Kraken Prop evaluations. It is one of the few exchanges open to CPA or hybrid deals, through its track on Impact. Payouts come in USDC or fiat, monthly by default; on Impact, earnings are paid on the 29th of the following month. Applications are usually reviewed within 5 business days.

Bitget

Bitget’s affiliate program starts every approved affiliate at 0%. You activate 40% (LV1) by verifying your identity and getting invitees to 10,000 USDT of volume in any 30 days. LV2 pays 45% with 50 traders and 30,000,000 USDT a month, LV3 pays 50% with 100 traders and 150,000,000 USDT. Commission is paid daily in USDT (T+1), and the entry bar is low: 100+ followers or a 500+ member community, with review inside one business day.

MEXC

MEXC’s affiliate program advertises up to 70% combined referral and sub-affiliate commission on spot and futures, for the lifetime of the account, settled daily at 00:00 UTC to your MEXC account. Level 2 needs 5 new users who each generate at least 5 USDT in fees plus 2,000 MX held, or simply 20,000 MX held. Creators need 500+ followers, review takes up to 3 business days, and affiliates are expected to promote MEXC events at least twice a month.

Ledger

Ledger’s affiliate program pays at least 10% of the final sale price (after discounts, excluding VAT and shipping) on each hardware wallet order. It is a one-off commission, not recurring. You choose between Ledger’s in-house track (paid in BTC, minimum €50 plus 2 orders) and Impact (fiat, no minimum); both pay within 30 days. Brand bidding, coupon and cashback sites, and URL shorteners are banned. Compare it with its closest rival in Ledger vs Trezor affiliate.

YouHodler

YouHodler’s affiliate program lets you choose: up to $150 CPA per activated client ($20 for a Yield account plus $130 for a qualifying MultiHODL, TurboCharge or loan deal) or 20% revenue share capped at $400 per user. A hybrid model is also listed. Approval is automatic, payouts run monthly in the first 5 working days, and you earn 5% of the payments to affiliates you refer. Minimums are $20 to a YouHodler wallet, €200 by SEPA and $2,000 by SWIFT.

Cryptohopper

Cryptohopper’s affiliate program pays 10–15% recurring on bot subscriptions for as long as the user keeps paying: 10% under $500 of monthly commissions, 12.5% from $500, 15% above $1,000. Its own example: a $129 Hero plan at 15% earns $19.35 a month. The cookie is 30 days, the minimum payout is $75, and you can request payment by PayPal or crypto via BitPay up to twice a month. Google Ads with your affiliate link are not allowed.

Crypto affiliate programs by category

Exchanges dominate search volume, but some of the most beginner-friendly offers sit in smaller categories. Each category page explains which metrics matter for that vertical and profiles its strongest programs.

Crypto exchange affiliate programs are the largest group, with lifetime revenue shares from 15% (Bitvavo’s starting rate) up to 70% (MEXC and WEEX). The trade-offs are tier thresholds, regional bans and strict rules on paid search. Crypto wallet affiliate programs pay per sale instead: Trezor up to 15% with a 30-day cookie, ELLIPAL 15% (up to 20%) with a 90-day cookie, Tangem a fixed 5 USDT per sale.

Crypto lending and earn programs such as Nexo and YouHodler mix CPA with revenue share, and Bitcoin IRA pays per funded account. Crypto trading bot affiliate programs pay a share of subscriptions: Coinrule 25–30% lifetime, Bitsgap 30% for one year, Pionex 20% on spot fees for 365 days. Swap services and instant exchangers pay per swap, like ChangeNOW’s 0.4% of swap volume or Paybis’s 20% lifetime share.

Crypto tax software affiliate programs are seasonal but steady: CoinLedger pays 25% recurring for life, Koinly 20% per sale capped at $150. Crypto payment gateways and cards pay on merchant processing fees, such as CoinGate’s 20% for life. Finally, crypto affiliate networks like Impact, CJ Affiliate and Daisycon let you run several crypto offers from one dashboard and one payout.

Prefer the whole picture at once? The full crypto affiliate programs list lets you filter all programs by category, commission model and payout currency.

How crypto affiliates get paid: RevShare, CPA and hybrid

Three payment models cover almost every program in this directory.

Revenue shareRevShare You earn a percentage of the revenue a platform makes from your referred users — on exchanges, usually a share of their trading fees. More pays you a percentage of what the platform earns from your referrals, usually trading fees or subscription revenue. It starts slowly and compounds: every active user adds to next month’s income. Look closely at the base (gross fees or net “fee profit”), the duration (lifetimeLifetime commission You keep earning from a referred user for as long as they stay active, with no end date written into the deal. More, 365 days or 3 months) and anything that switches it off, such as Binance stopping spot commission at VIP 3.

CPACPA A fixed one-time payment you earn when a referred user completes a set action, such as passing KYC or making a first deposit. More (cost per acquisition) pays a fixed amount once a referred user completes a defined action, usually KYC plus a deposit or trade. YouHodler pays up to $150 per activated client, Gemini $25 per new user who trades. CPA suits traffic that converts once but does not stick around, such as paid campaigns or broad finance audiences.

HybridHybrid A payment model that combines a one-time CPA payment with an ongoing revenue share, usually at a lower percentage than pure RevShare. More deals combine a smaller CPA with a reduced revenue share. They are rarely published and usually negotiated once you have volume: Kraken, Nexo and Changelly list hybrid options. Our CPA vs RevShare vs hybrid guide works through the math for each model.

How to start with crypto affiliate programs

You do not need a large audience to begin, but you do need a plan. These five steps work for a blog, a YouTube channel or a Telegram community.

1. Pick one audience and one problem. "New traders comparing exchanges" or "people storing coins for the first time" leads to better content than "crypto in general".
2. Choose programs your audience can use. Check restricted regions first: a program that bans your readers' country earns you nothing, however high the rate.
3. Start where there is no threshold. Self-serve programs like CEX.IO, Ledger and YouHodler let you earn from the first referral; Binance and Bitget gate their rates behind followers or volume.
4. Read the traffic rules before you publish. Note banned channels (brand bidding, coupon sites, mass posting), disclosure rules and how payouts are verified.
5. Track every placement. Use separate links or sub-IDs per page or video so you know which content brings traders, not just clicks.

Once the basics work, expand into a second category, such as wallets or tax software, so your income does not depend on one exchange’s tier rules. The guides on crypto traffic sources and sub-affiliate programs cover the next steps.

Red flags and compliance

Crypto is a regulated, restricted niche, and the rules land on you as much as on the brand. Before you promote anything, check four things.

First, geography. Almost every exchange excludes some countries: Bybit, MEXC and Bitget all list the United States and Canada as restricted, OKX lists Japan, India and Hong Kong among others, and CEX.IO has suspended its referral program for UK residents. Promoting to excluded regions can void your commissions.

Second, the ad channels. Brand bidding is banned outright or needs written approval at CEX.IO, OKX, Bitget, Ledger and YouHodler. Binance bans referral links in search ads. Ledger and Cryptohopper ban coupon sites. 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 through your own extra accounts is banned everywhere and is the fastest way to lose a whole balance.

Third, claims. Never promise returns or present a product as risk-free. Bitget lists “guaranteed returns” claims as a violation, and YouHodler bans giving investment advice or helping users with KYC. Derivatives carry extra restrictions: OKX, for example, limits derivatives in Australia and the UK, and Kraken bans marketing that breaches UK financial-promotion rules.

Fourth, clawbacks. Most programs reserve the right to review and reverse commissions. CEX.IO can review activity going back 180 days, and Kraken’s agreement includes clawback rights for invalid referrals. Keep records of where each link was placed. The crypto affiliate compliance guide goes deeper into disclosures and regional rules.

Where to go next

If you are new to the niche, start with crypto affiliate marketing for beginners, then come back to the top 10 above. If you already have traffic, the highest paying crypto affiliate programs shortlist and the programs that pay in crypto page help you compare offers on the numbers that matter for your setup. And when a term in a program’s terms looks unfamiliar, the glossary explains it in plain English.