Referral bonuses look simple on paper: sign up, deposit, get rewarded. In practice, the single most common reason people miss out is registering an account first and only clicking a referral link afterward — by then it is often too late: the bonus is tied to the account at creation, and only some exchanges offer a short window to add a code afterwards (MEXC 30 days, Bybit 14 days for affiliate codes). Here's the order that actually works.
1. Start from a referral link, not the exchange homepage
Every offer on this site links directly to the exchange's referral registration flow. Opening the exchange app or website directly and searching for a promo code afterward usually fails to attach the bonus: apart from short windows at MEXC (30 days) and Bybit (14 days, affiliate codes), the referral has to be present when the account is created.
20% lower trading fees through this link
20% lower trading fees through this link
20% lower trading fees through this link
20% lower trading fees through this link
20% lower trading fees through this link
2. Complete verification (KYC) before depositing
Most exchanges require identity verification before a deposit counts toward a welcome bonus, and verification can take anywhere from a few minutes to a day depending on the exchange and your region. Get this done first so it isn't a bottleneck once you're ready to fund the account.
3. Deposit within the promotional window
Welcome bonuses are almost always time-boxed — commonly 7 to 30 days from account creation. Check the specific terms on the exchange page before depositing; missing the window means the deposit no longer counts toward the bonus tier, even though the money is still yours.
4. Meet any trading-volume requirement
Larger bonuses (Bybit and OKX in particular) are often tiered by trading volume, not just deposit size — meaning the full reward unlocks in stages as you trade, not all at once on day one. Read the tier breakdown on the exchange's own promotion page so you know what volume unlocks the next tier.
The one step that protects your bonus
Creating a second account on the same exchange to try to claim a bonus twice — using a different email but the same device, phone number, or payment method — gets flagged by fraud detection almost every time, and can result in both accounts being frozen. If you already have an account with an exchange, you generally cannot retroactively attach a new referral bonus to it.