Affiliate programs are used by companies or sellers to reward customers who bring other customers to them. It is basically a system of marketing in which customers are incentivized to bring new customers.
In the online world, a seller or merchant gives a participating customer a special link or code to their website and pays them a commission based on the new customers or visitors the link generates. The participant is given such a link is known as an affiliate.
This is a common practice in the crypto world, and it can be a source of passive income. Merchants who render services in the crypto industry often reward their affiliates in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, a native coin, or sometimes a stablecoin. The rewards are usually small, but when compounded can add up significantly.
Here is a review of the best affiliate programs in the industry that pay in bitcoins.
Best Affiliate Programs That Pay in Bitcoin (BTC)
Binance
Binance is a top crypto exchange, having arguably the largest daily trade volume. The trading platform has its own native token known as the Binance Coin (BNB). Here is a guide on how to use the Binance exchange.
Affiliate Program: Register, get a referral link, earn when referrals trade.
Commission Offer: 20% of trading fees. Binance trading fees range between 0.02% and 0.1%.
Duration of Commission: On every trade by referral
Frequency of Payouts: Instant
Minimum Earnings before Payout: No minimum
Account for Payout and Currency: Binance wallet of the token or currency that the trading fee was paid in
Other Information: For Binance accounts holding over 500 BNB, the commission is 40%.
Coinbase
Coinbase is a US-based fiat-to-crypto exchange. It also offers crypto-to-crypto exchange and trading through the Coinbase Pro platform, as well as Bitcoin payment processing for merchants.
Affiliate Program: Coinbase users can use a referral link to invite friends to the platform. When the referral buys or sells with $100 (or more) within 180 days of opening the account, both the affiliate and the referral earn a commission.
Commission Offer: $10
Duration of Commission: One time
Frequency of Payouts: Within 4 business days
Minimum Earnings before Payout: None
Account for Payout and currency: Paid in US dollars (or equivalent in the local currency) to Coinbase fiat account
Other Information: This can only work when the account is in one of the supported countries.
Trezor
Trezor is the company that produces the famous Trezor cryptocurrency hardware wallets that allow the storing or cryptocurrencies offline. The Trezor Model T is among the top cold wallets for safeguarding cryptocurrencies today.
Affiliate Program: Register on the Trezor website, get a referral, link and earn when referrals make a purchase.
Commission Offer: 10-15% of the net sale (excluding VAT and shipping)
Duration of Commission: For every sale
Frequency of Payouts: Monthly
Minimum Earnings before Payout: Undisclosed
Account for Payout: Bitcoin wallet address provided
Other Information: The platform offers reports to manage promotional campaigns.
Ledger
Ledger offers cryptocurrency hardware wallets that enable offline storage. The Ledger Nano S is regarded among the top cold wallets to safeguard cryptocurrencies. It now has a new flagship product known as the Ledger Nano X.
Affiliate Program: Sign up to be an affiliate, use the referral link to bring in users, earn when they purchase.
Commission Offer: 10% on net sale (excluding VAT and shipping)
Duration of Commission: On every sale
Frequency of Payouts: Monthly
Minimum Earnings before Payout: Undisclosed
Account for Payout: Bitcoin wallet address provided
Other Information: Access to real-time reports on referrals is made available
LocalBitcoins
Localbitcoins is an online platform where users can trade Bitcoin for fiat directly with each other. Its service is unique from other crypto exchanges in that it facilitates over-the-counter trade of bitcoin for the local fiat currency of a country. It has a coverage of 248 countries.
Affiliate Program: An affiliate will earn from users who arrive the website through their affiliate link, register with the website, and make trades.
Commission Offer: 20% of the new user’s trading fee. The trading fee is 1% of the amount traded. Therefore, the commission is 0.2% of the amount traded by the user.
Duration of Commission: Commission is paid out for 1 year from the user’s registration.
Frequency of Payouts: Daily
Minimum Earnings before Payout: No minimum
Account for Payout: Payouts are sent to your LocalBitcoins account
Other Information: Only finalized trades that go through LocalBitcoins will count.
Coinmama
Coinmama is an online platform for buying cryptocurrencies with a credit or debit card. Its services are currently available in over 188 countries.
Affiliate Program: Affiliate will need to register and bring in customers through their affiliate links (to buy cryptocurrencies) to start earning.
Commission Offer: 15% of Coinmama fee for the purchase of cryptocurrency. Coinmama fee is 5.90%. This means affiliate commission is 0.885% of the buy amount.
Duration of Commission: As long as the referral keeps buying. Forever.
Frequency of Payouts: Monthly
Minimum Earnings before Payout: Payouts are paid only after 3 successful orders made by at least 3 different users.
Account for Payout: Bitcoin wallet address imputed during affiliate registration
Other Information: More information can be seen in the terms and conditions.
Coinsquare
Coinsquare is a Canada-based crypto exchange that trades Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV. The exchange also lists fiat currencies such as the Canadian dollar, US dollar, and Euro.
Affiliate Program: Generate a personal link, share, and have others sign up with the link. Earning is on a percentage of their trading fees.
Commission Offer: The affiliate can earn up to 45% of the Coinsquare trading fee. The trading fee of Coinsquare ranges from 0.1% to 0.4% to customer’s purchase.
Duration of Commission: As long as the referral keeps trading
Frequency of Payouts: Daily (immediately)
Minimum Earnings before Payout: No minimum
Account for Payout: Coinsquare Bitcoin account
Other Information: Terms and conditions
Paxful
Paxful is a peer-to-peer online Bitcoin marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of Bitcoin. The platform offers more than 300 ways to buy Bitcoin.
Affiliate Program: Get a virtual Bitcoin kiosk link, share the link, and earn when referral buys Bitcoin.
Commission Offer: 2% of the total purchase
Duration of Commission: Forever
Frequency of Payouts: Instantly
Minimum Earnings before Payout: No minimum
Account for Payout: Paxful Bitcoin wallet
Other Information: Each month 3 top-earning affiliates receive bonuses.
Abra
Abra is a mobile app for investing in cryptocurrencies and fiat. The app currently has 30 cryptocurrencies and 50 fiat currencies listed on its platform, and plans to add stocks and ETFs soon.
Affiliate Program: Apply to the affiliate program, activate the referral link, have users register on the app. New users must then deposit at least $5 or deposit crypto and exchange for any crypto except BTC, ETH, or LTC.
Commission Offer: $25 per referral sent to both the affiliate and the new user. Or 1.5% of crypto exchanged (up to $25)
Duration of Commission: One time
Frequency of Payouts: Within 10 days of deposit (for less than 20 referrals), or monthly (for full-fledged affiliates)
Minimum Earnings before Payout: $5 (for less than 20 referrals), or $100 (for full-fledged affiliates)
Account for Payout: Abra Bitcoin wallet
Other Information: Abra is open to sponsoring events and organizations also.
FortuneJack
FortuneJack is a Bitcoin casino website that offers a variety of games that can be played with cryptocurrencies.
Affiliate Program: Register to become an affiliate, use the affiliate links, and earn revenue from each of your referrals.
Commission Offer: Depends on revenue from referrals. For revenue between 0-1 BTC, commission is 30%; 1-2 BTC, 40%; 2-5 BTC, 45%; 5-10 BTC, 50%; Over 10 BTC, 60%.
Duration of Commission: Undisclosed
Frequency of Payouts: Monthly
Minimum Earnings before Payout: 0.02 BTC
Account for Payout: Bitcoin wallet address provided
Other Information: It also includes a 2% of net revenue from sub-affiliates when an affiliate refers another affiliate
Keepkey
Keepkey is a cold wallet storage for cryptocurrencies. It is also regarded among the top cold wallets to safeguard cryptocurrencies.
Affiliate Program: Create an account, receive tracking link, and earn when referrals purchase crypto.
Commission Offer: $20 on every sale
Duration of Commission: On every individual purchase
Frequency of Payouts: Undisclosed
Minimum Earnings before Payout: Undisclosed
Account for Payout: Bitcoin wallet address provided
Other Information: Commissions also include a 5% of a sub-affiliate’s earnings when an affiliate refers another affiliate.
There are other notable affiliate programs in the industry that do not pay in Bitcoin but pay in Ethereum, Ripple, and other coins. Here is a review of some of them.
Conclusion
There are other crypto platforms with interesting referral programs, such as Coindirect paying affiliates in XRP, EtherMium paying with Ether and Ethereum tokens, eToro which offers a wide variety of payment options for promoting the trading platform, and Bitbond which offers up to 50% of its origination fee as commission.
To begin earning through affiliates, it is advisable to start with platforms that you are already familiar with. It is easier to recommend a platform one has used. The affiliate programs of Binance and LocalBitcoins are well spoken of in the crypto community.
While affiliate programs are just designed to incentivize the marketing efforts of customers, they can grow to produce substantial income like these top affiliates on Binance shown above.
