Kraken Overview
Kraken is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2011, making it one of the oldest and largest platforms in the industry. It facilitates the trading of various cryptocurrencies bought and sold with fiat currencies.
Kraken is known for its strong emphasis on security, regulatory compliance, and offering a range of services from spot trading, margin trading, and futures trading (where available), to staking, and an NFT marketplace. It caters to both beginner and expert traders with platforms like the main Kraken app and the advanced Kraken Pro.
Kraken Affiliate Program Overview
The Kraken Affiliate Program allows individuals and businesses to earn commissions by referring new clients to the Kraken exchange. Affiliates earn a percentage of the trading fees collected from their referred clients for the lifetime of the client, up to a certain cap per client. This makes it a Revenue Share (RevShare) type program, emphasizing long-term value from referrals.
| Attribute | Details |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance (Cryptocurrency Exchange) |
| Product Type | Digital Products/Services (Crypto trading, staking, NFTs, etc.) |
| Affiliate Program Type | Cost Per Sale (CPS) / Revenue Share (RevShare) |
Kraken Affiliate Program Offers
Kraken provides its affiliates with necessary resources to promote the platform and has clear guidelines on accepted traffic sources and content.
| Attribute | Details |
| Promotional Materials | Influencer links, HTML banners, Image banners, SmartLinks, Text link banners |
| Affiliate Cookie Duration | 180 days |
| Accepted traffic source | Link and banner advertisements, Social media advertisements, Other (must be relevant content) |
| Accepted countries | Worldwide (Referral campaigns may have regional restrictions, e.g., US, CA, ES, IT, AU, IE, NL, UK, FR, PO, BE in some programs, but Kraken services are global in nature) |
| Explicit Content | Not Accepted (Prohibited content generally includes pornographic or erotic content) |
| Religious or political content | Not explicitly stated as prohibited, but affiliates must adhere to ethical marketing practices and content should be relevant to personal finance/crypto. |
Kraken Affiliate Commissions & Payments
The program offers a competitive, recurring commission structure with a low or no minimum payout, utilizing a third-party management platform for tracking and payments.
| Attribute | Details |
| MLM | No (Single-tier commission plan) |
| Commission Rate | 20% of the fees collected from a referred client |
| Commission Structure | RevShare / Percentage commission (up to $1,000 USD for each client referred) |
| Payout Frequency | Monthly (Funds are available in the affiliate management software account by the 15th of the month following the revenue generation, and payments are processed 14 days later) |
| Payout Methods | Bank Wire Transfer, PayPal, Other methods (processed via the affiliate management software) |
| Minimum Payout | No minimum payout / Low minimum threshold (e.g., $10 USD to withdraw from the affiliate management platform, depending on the software used) |
Suitable Affiliates for Kraken Affiliate
The Kraken Affiliate Program is most suitable for content creators and businesses with an audience interested in finance, investing, and the crypto market. While the program seeks to primarily partner with businesses, individuals with a large, relevant audience are also welcomed.
| Affiliate Type | Suitability for Kraken Affiliate |
| Bloggers | High: Especially those focusing on personal finance, crypto news, trading tutorials, and investment strategies. |
| TikTokers | High: For creating engaging, short-form educational or market-analysis content aimed at a crypto-interested audience. |
| KOC (Key Opinion Consumer) | Medium: If their influence is specifically within niche crypto communities. |
| KOL (Key Opinion Leader) | High: If they are recognized experts or thought leaders in the finance, technology, or cryptocurrency space. |
| Influencers | High: Those with a substantial audience interested in investing, decentralized finance (DeFi), and crypto-related topics. |
| YouTubers | High: For producing in-depth reviews, tutorials, market updates, and long-form educational videos about Kraken and crypto trading. |
| Video editors | Low: Unless they are also content creators/influencers using video to promote. |
| Livestreamers | High: Those who stream trading sessions, crypto analysis, or financial discussions to an engaged audience. |
Kraken Affiliate Software
Kraken utilizes a specialized platform for managing its affiliate program:
- Affiliate Management Software: Kraken uses the Impact affiliate management platform to handle tracking, reporting, and commission payouts.
3 Alternatives for Kraken Affiliate Program
Kraken is a prominent cryptocurrency exchange. Here are three alternatives and a comparison table based on common affiliate factors. Note that specific details like Average bill (which is client-dependent) and Conversion (which is content-dependent) are approximated or based on general industry structure.
Alternatives
- Binance: The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, offering a massive selection of coins, advanced trading products, and a strong global presence. Their affiliate program often features a high, but tiered, RevShare commission.
- Coinbase: A highly regulated, US-based exchange known for its user-friendly interface, making it popular with beginners. It generally offers a high initial CPA or a RevShare for the first few months of a referred client’s activity.
- OKX: A leading exchange and Web3 platform with a wide range of products including advanced trading, DeFi access, and a focus on derivatives. Their affiliate program typically offers tiered RevShare or CPA models.
Comparison Table
| Comparison Factor | Kraken Affiliate Program | Binance Affiliate Program | Coinbase Affiliate Program | OKX Affiliate Program |
| Average bill (Client Spend) | Highly variable, depends on client activity. | Highly variable, depends on client activity. | Highly variable, depends on client activity. | Highly variable, depends on client activity. |
| Entry fees | $0 (Free to join) | $0 (Free to join) | $0 (Free to join) | $0 (Free to join) |
| Withdrawal threshold | Low (e.g., $10 USD on Impact) | Varies (Often low or none, paid in crypto/fiat) | Varies (Often no minimum for direct commission) | Varies (Typically low for crypto payouts) |
| Payment frequency | Monthly (via Impact) | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly |
| Commission | 20% lifetime RevShare (up to $1,000 per client cap) | Up to 50% RevShare (Often tiered based on performance) | 50% of trade fees for the first 3 months (historically) or CPA | Up to 50% RevShare / CPA (Often tiered/negotiable) |
| Conversion | Focuses on sign-up and subsequent trading/staking activity. | Focuses on sign-up and active trading. | Focuses on sign-up, deposit, and initial trade. | Focuses on sign-up and active trading. |
| Marketing materials | Banners, SmartLinks, Text links. | Banners, Referral links, Widgets, Custom content support. | Banners, Referral links, Landing pages. | Banners, Referral links, Custom materials for KOLs. |
