Crypto Referral and Bonus Glossary

Crypto exchanges are good at inventing names for things. One platform’s “welcome gift” is another’s “new user reward”, and a “futures bonus” can mean anything from withdrawable USDT to a coupon that vanishes after one losing trade. When you do not know the vocabulary, you cannot tell a generous offer from a marketing trick.

This glossary groups the terms by theme rather than by alphabet, so related ideas sit together: first the referral mechanics, then fees and trading, then the many shapes a bonus can take, then account and compliance terms, and finally the on-chain world of staking, airdrops and points. Each entry links to a guide or review where the term matters in practice. Use your browser’s search to jump to a specific word.

Referral programs: the basics

Referral code

A short string of letters or numbers that identifies the person who invited you. You type it into the sign-up form, usually in a field labeled “Referral ID (optional)”. On most exchanges it can only be added when the account is created, never afterwards. Our guide on how to use a referral code covers the details.

Referral link

The same thing as a code, packed into a URL. Opening the link pre-fills the code on the sign-up page. If you clear cookies or switch browsers before registering, the link may stop working, so check that the code is still filled in before you submit.

Inviter and referee

The inviter (or referrer) shares the code. The referee (or invitee) uses it to sign up. Programs usually reward both, but under different conditions, so always read which reward belongs to which side.

Referral program

The standard program open to every verified user. It pays a share of the referee’s trading fees, fixed task rewards, or both. Terms are set by the exchange and can change at any time.

Affiliate program

An application-based program for creators, websites and communities. It pays higher commission rates than the standard referral program and often adds a manager and detailed reporting. OKX, for example, gives affiliates a default 30% of invitees’ fees. See referral vs affiliate programs.

Commission

The inviter’s share of the fees their referees pay. Binance’s Referral Pro starts at 20% of Spot fees; Bybit advertises up to 30%. Commission is calculated on fees, not on deposits or trade sizes.

Kickback

The part of the inviter’s commission handed back to the referee as an ongoing fee discount. In Binance’s standard Pro mode the inviter can share 0%, 5% or 10% of fees with you. A kickback is one of the few referral benefits that keeps paying as long as you trade. Our referral kickback guide explains the math.

Rebate

Any portion of a trading fee returned after the fact. Exchanges use “rebate” for the referrer’s commission, for kickbacks to referees, and for fee vouchers. When you see the word, check who receives it and in what form.

Tiered referral

A referral program where the inviter’s commission rate rises with performance. Binance’s Spot tiers move from 20% to 30%, 41% and 50% based on referred volume and the number of new traders each quarter. Tiers are reassessed regularly, and inviters who miss the criteria are downgraded.

Sub-affiliate

An affiliate recruited by another affiliate. The upper affiliate earns a share of what the sub-affiliate’s invitees generate. Legitimate in itself, but structures that pay mainly for recruiting rather than trading deserve suspicion; see multi-level referral systems.

Self-referral

Using your own code to open a second account, or getting someone to sign up so you can collect both sides of the reward. Every major exchange bans it. OKX lists self-referral among behaviors that lead to permanent blacklisting.

Fees and trading terms

Trading fee

The percentage an exchange charges on each trade. A regular Spot fee of 0.1% costs $1 on a $1,000 trade. Every referral commission and kickback is a slice of this fee, which is why they are small for occasional traders.

Maker and taker

A maker adds liquidity with an order that waits in the order book, such as a limit order below the current price. A taker removes liquidity with an order that fills immediately, such as a market order. Takers usually pay higher fees. More in our maker vs taker fees guide.

VIP tier

A fee level based on your 30-day trading volume or asset balance. Higher tiers get lower fees. VIP tiers interact with referrals: Binance stops paying referral commission once a referee reaches VIP 3, and OKX pays no rebate for invitees at VIP 7 or above.

Trading volume requirement

The total value of trades you must make within a set period to unlock a reward. Both buys and sells count. A $10,000 volume requirement at a 0.1% fee costs $10 in fees, which can eat a large part of a small bonus.

Net trading fee

The fee actually paid after bonuses, coupons and credits are deducted. Bybit calculates referral commission on net fees, so trades paid with bonus funds generate little or no commission.

Zero-fee pair

A trading pair the exchange runs without fees, often for promotions. Because there is no fee, zero-fee trades usually do not count toward volume requirements or referral commissions.

Spot

Buying and selling the actual crypto asset at the current price. Most welcome tasks and fee vouchers are tied to Spot trading.

Futures and perpetuals

Contracts that track a crypto price without you owning the coin, usually traded with leverage. Perpetual futures have no expiry date. Many bonuses target futures because leverage generates high fees.

Leverage and liquidation

Leverage multiplies your position size relative to your margin: 10x turns $100 into a $1,000 position. If the price moves against you far enough, the exchange closes the position automatically, which is liquidation. Bonus margin is lost the same way.

Convert

A one-click swap between two assets at a quoted price, without an order book. Convenient for beginners, and on some exchanges a Convert trade counts toward first-trade tasks. The spread built into the quote is a cost even when no fee is shown.

P2P

Peer-to-peer trading, where users buy and sell crypto directly with each other using bank transfers or local payment apps, with the exchange holding the crypto in escrow. P2P purchases often count as a “deposit” for welcome tasks.

Bonus types and reward mechanics

Sign-up bonus

Also called a welcome bonus or new user reward: whatever the exchange gives new accounts for completing tasks. It can be cash, crypto, vouchers or a mix. Compare real offers in our sign-up bonus list.

No-deposit bonus

A reward you can claim without depositing any money, typically for registering and passing identity verification. Genuine ones are small. See our no-deposit bonus list.

Rewards Hub

Binance’s name for the section of the account where vouchers and task rewards appear and are redeemed. Other exchanges call it a Rewards Center, Task Center or Coupon Center. Rewards often have to be claimed here manually before they can be used.

Voucher or coupon

A reward with a fixed purpose and a deadline rather than a withdrawable balance. It might cover trading fees, add margin to a futures position or boost an Earn rate. Always check what it can be used for and when it expires.

Fee rebate voucher

A voucher that pays back trading fees up to its face value. Binance’s welcome rewards of up to $100 are fee rebate vouchers that only offset Spot fees and stay usable for a short time after redemption.

Trial fund

Bonus funds credited for trading that cannot be withdrawn. Losses consume them, and usually only profits, sometimes capped, can be kept. OKX treats trial funds as fee offsets that generate no referral rebate.

Futures bonus

Any reward that can only be used in futures trading: bonus margin, trial funds or position vouchers. Treat futures bonuses as discounts on risky trading, not as money. Our guide to fake and misleading crypto bonuses explains why.

Position voucher

A coupon that opens a futures position of a fixed size at a set leverage without your own margin. The voucher is consumed when the position closes; any profit you keep is subject to conditions.

Deposit bonus

A bonus calculated as a percentage of your deposit, typically credited as futures margin. Many deposit bonuses are removed entirely if you withdraw any part of the deposit, which is why they are often called deposit-lock bonuses.

Cashback

A percentage of spending returned to you, most common with crypto debit cards. Cashback paid in the exchange’s own token can lose value quickly, and some programs require staking to reach the advertised rate. Compare cards in our crypto cards hub.

Mystery box

A reward with a random value inside a stated range, such as Bybit’s former box “worth up to 1,000 USDT”. The top value is rare; plan around the minimum.

Task window

The period in which a reward condition must be met, usually counted from registration. Bybit, for example, requires a $50 first trade within 14 days of sign-up for its first referral task. Miss the window and the reward is gone.

Risk review

A check the exchange runs before crediting a reward to filter out fraud and multi-accounting. Bybit holds referral rewards for a 3-day risk review and then gives 10 days to claim them.

Account and compliance terms

KYC

Know Your Customer: verifying your identity with an official ID document and a selfie or liveness check. Almost every real bonus requires it. Our KYC guide for crypto bonuses explains levels, documents and timing.

KYB

Know Your Business, the company version of KYC. It checks registration documents, directors and ultimate owners. Business accounts are often excluded from retail bonuses.

Liveness check

A short camera test confirming a real person is present during verification, usually by asking you to move your head or follow prompts. It prevents verification with a printed or stolen photo.

Regional restrictions

Rules that exclude certain countries from an exchange or a specific offer. Binance’s welcome rewards, for instance, are unavailable in the US, UK and Canada among others. Check eligibility before you register.

Multi-accounting

Opening more than one account per person, usually to claim welcome rewards repeatedly. Banned by every exchange and detected through KYC data, devices and IP addresses. The penalty ranges from losing rewards to account closure.

Wash trading

Trading back and forth with yourself, or between linked accounts, to fake volume. Exchanges void rewards earned this way and may restrict the accounts involved.

Staking, airdrops and on-chain rewards

Staking

Locking tokens to help secure a proof-of-stake blockchain, or depositing them in an exchange product, in return for rewards. Exchange “Earn” products often bundle staking with promotional rates for new users.

Lock-up

A period during which deposited or reward tokens cannot be moved or sold. Promotional Earn rates often come with lock-ups, and the token price can fall while you wait.

Airdrop

A free distribution of tokens to wallet addresses, usually to reward early users or to market a new project. Legitimate airdrops never require you to send funds first. Fake airdrops that ask you to connect a wallet or pay a fee are a common scam.

Points

Off-chain scores projects give users for activity, such as trading volume, deposits or referrals, often ahead of a possible airdrop. Points have no guaranteed value and conversion rules can change. Perp DEXs often run points programs alongside referrals; compare them in our perp DEX hub.

Sybil

One person posing as many users, usually by running dozens of wallets to farm airdrops or points. Projects run sybil filters that link wallets by funding sources and behavior, and they exclude flagged wallets from distributions.

Tax on rewards

Not a product term, but one you will need: in most countries referral rewards, bonuses and airdrops count as income when received. Our guide on crypto referral rewards tax covers the US, UK, Germany, Australia and India.