How crypto wallets, exchanges and cards make money: 6 business models
Short answer: crypto products earn from swap fees, spreads, trading commissions, card interchange, staking margins, referral programs and partner offers. The big players combine several; smaller wallets and exchangers can add a revenue line that does not depend on fees at all — real gifts after successful operations, paid per confirmed action.
Key takeaways
- Self-custody wallets earn mostly from built-in swap fees.
- Exchanges earn from trading fees and pay out large referral commissions to grow.
- Card programs earn interchange and spend it back on cashback.
- All fee-based models face constant price pressure.
- Partner gifts add revenue without raising prices or touching custody.
Model 1: swap fees in wallets
Self-custody wallets do not hold user funds, so they monetize built-in features. The best-known example is the swap: MetaMask has publicly charged a service fee of under 1% on swaps made inside the wallet, and other popular wallets use similar fees. It works because swapping inside the wallet is convenient, but it competes with every DEX aggregator.
Model 2: spreads and trading fees
Centralized exchanges and instant exchangers earn on each trade — through a fee or the difference between buy and sell rates. Volume is everything, and rate-comparison sites push margins down, so growth comes from new users rather than higher prices.
Model 3: referral and affiliate programs
Large exchanges share a big part of trading fees with referrers — public programs advertise tens of percent of the referred user’s fees. It shows how much a new active user is worth to a crypto business, and it is the same logic advertisers use when they pay for confirmed actions.
Model 4: card interchange and cashback
Crypto card programs earn a fee from merchants’ banks on every card payment. Much of it is returned to users as cashback or crypto rewards to drive spending — the more users spend, the more the program earns.
Model 5: staking and yield margins
Custodial products keep a share of staking or lending yield. It is profitable in good markets but depends on rates, regulation and user trust.
Model 6: partner gifts after operations
The newest line is independent of fees. After a top-up, swap or card issue the user sees a gift wheel with trials and discounts from digital services and picks what they want. The product earns a payout per confirmed action — up to $54 for hosting with current offers — and the gift often makes the user spend with the same card.
Lessons for smaller crypto teams
- Do not compete only on fees — aggregators always find someone cheaper.
- Monetize attention after the operation, not the operation itself.
- Choose gifts that match crypto users: VPN, hosting, eSIM, AI.
- Keep processing and KYC untouched to stay compliant.
Which offers are live and how much you earn per action
These are offers that are live on getbonus right now. The last column is your share — half of what the advertiser pays for one confirmed action. For offers paid as a percentage of the sale it is a range from the cheapest to the most expensive plan.
| Offer | Gift for the user | Paid for | You earn per action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudways | 40% off for 4 months or $15 credit | Paid hosting plan | $54.15 |
| PureVPN | 20% off any plan | Paid subscription | $2.69–42.30 |
| AdGuard | 30% off the ad blocker | Paid order of a new customer | $5.23–29.75 |
| AdGuard VPN | 80% off the 2-year plan | Paid subscription | $2.70–12.95 |
| Retouch4me | 20% off AI retouching plugins | Paid order | $8.93–54.65 |
| Homestyler | Free 3D home design plan | Paid membership of a new user | $12.24–35.82 |
| Notta | Free AI meeting notes: 120 min a month | Paid subscription | $2.02–30.00 |
| EdrawMax | Free start for diagrams and mind maps | Paid order | $8.27–29.38 |
| AOMEI | Free PC backup software | Paid license | $5.99–10.49 |
| italki | $5 bonus credit on the first top-up | First paid lesson order | $9.00 |
| Parallels | 14 days of Parallels Desktop free | Paid license | $2.68–7.31 |
| WPS Office | Free office suite, Pro discount | Paid Pro subscription | $0.57–6.91 |
More programs are being connected — VPN and security tools, AI services, online courses, games with new-player bonuses — so the gift set grows every week. Gifts are always filtered by the user’s country.
How to launch in about an hour
- Leave a request on the contact page. We create your partner account and send access to the partner cabinet.
- Choose the moment: a success screen, a confirmation email, a reward screen or a bot message.
- Paste one widget snippet, or add a link or an inline button with your partner ID — usually 10–15 minutes of work.
- In the cabinet, preview your widget and switch off offers that do not suit your audience.
- Make a test click — it appears in the cabinet right away — and go live.
No SDK, no backend changes and no personal data: the link carries only your partner ID and a technical click ID. Most partners go live within about an hour of getting access, and the first clicks are visible the same day.
Become a getbonus partner
If your product has a moment when users complete something — a payment, a booking, a reward — you already have the place for gifts. See how it works for crypto cards and exchangers and leave a request: we will suggest the best moment and connect you within a day.
See how gifts work in a live demo
Open the demo →Frequently asked questions
How do crypto wallets make money?
Mostly through built-in swap fees, plus partnerships, staking features and partner offers. Self-custody wallets cannot earn on user deposits.
How do crypto exchangers make money?
On the spread or fee of each exchange. Because rates are compared publicly, many add extra revenue lines such as partner gifts.
How do crypto cards make money?
On interchange fees from merchants’ banks, plus card and FX fees. Cashback is funded from that income.
What is the easiest extra revenue for a crypto product?
Partner gifts on the success screen: no change to fees, no custody risk and about an hour of integration.
How quickly can we start earning?
Integration takes about an hour after you get access to the partner cabinet. Clicks show up immediately; confirmed actions and payouts follow after the advertiser’s validation period, usually from a few days to several weeks.
What does it cost?
Nothing. There is no setup fee or subscription. getbonus shares the advertiser’s payout with you — by default you receive half of it for every confirmed action.
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