ByBit CEO on the Affiliate Marketing Strategy Behind Their Rapid Growth & Why Users Are Staying On

TL;DR

Bybit drove its early growth by replacing basic referral links and paid shout-outs with an affiliate CRM that showed campaign clicks, conversions, trading activity, and commissions. After launching its Bitcoin perpetual contract in December 2018, the company also retained users through a retail-focused product and 24/7 customer support; almost 60% of registrants made a deposit. Read on to see how its campaign tools, fee sharing, and retail audience worked together.

Transcript

and so you guys go and you launch and you kind of took the world by storm right in terms of you really hit marketing and the affiliate programs and all of that in a kind of a big way maybe talk through a little bit once you guys had built the product what were those things that you did to kind of get the word out and really start driving adoption a... Read More

Key Insights

• 😫 Bybit's innovative affiliate program provides affiliates with robust tools for campaign management and analysis, setting it apart from traditional models in the crypto market.
• 👻 The company's strategic focus on data transparency allows affiliates to refine their promotional efforts and maximize their earnings.
• 👤 Retaining users is a key success factor for Bybit, supported by excellent customer service and a user-centric product design.
• ☠️ The compensation structure is specifically tailored to retail clients, allowing for effective targeting and higher conversion rates among users.
• 🥺 Bybit’s response to market dynamics led to strategic changes that aligned the platform's offerings with user needs, driving adoption.
• 💪 The combination of a strong product suite, informed marketing decisions, and user engagement strategies has positioned Bybit favorably in the competitive exchange landscape.
• 🐕‍🦺 The shifting paradigm from simple shoutout payments to an affiliate commission model reflects the evolving nature of digital marketing in financial services.

Questions & Answers

Q: What affiliate marketing strategy drove Bybit’s rapid growth?

Bybit built an affiliate CRM that let promoters create separate campaigns and links for channels such as YouTube, Twitter, Discord, and signal groups. Affiliates could compare clicks, conversions, trading activity, and commissions, then focus on the messages and channels producing better results.

Q: How did Bybit’s affiliate system differ from competitors’ referral programs?

The competing programs described by the CEO generally offered affiliates a simple page and referral link. Bybit instead provided campaign creation and performance data, giving affiliates a way to test their promotions and analyze results.

Q: Why did Bybit create its affiliate CRM?

After launching the Bitcoin perpetual contract in December 2018, Bybit saw limited volume and interest for about three months. Feedback from YouTubers and Twitter promoters showed that they relied largely on paid shout-outs because referral data was not transparent enough to analyze, so Bybit built tools that exposed campaign performance.

Q: What data could Bybit affiliates see?

Affiliates could see clicks, conversions, traffic, registered internal user IDs, maker or taker trading volume, and the commission generated by a client. Bybit did not provide clients’ personal information; it used internal user IDs to report activity.

Q: How could affiliates test different promotional messages?

Affiliates could assign different links to different messages and compare the resulting traffic. The CEO gave examples such as promoting that Bybit had no overload or that it required no KYC, then pushing whichever link performed better.

Q: Why were users staying on Bybit after registering?

The CEO attributed user retention to a user-friendly product built for retail customers and customer support available 24/7. He said almost 60% of every ten people who registered ultimately made a deposit.

Q: How did Bybit compensate affiliates?

Bybit gave affiliates a share of the taker fees it collected from referred clients. The platform charged clients a taker fee of 7.5 bits and offered a 2.5-bit rebate on maker volume, while affiliates shared in taker-volume fees.

Q: Why could Bybit affiliates earn more than with other exchanges?

The CEO argued that higher affiliate earnings were driven less by a unique payment formula than by product fit and conversion. Because Bybit was built for retail users, who tended to use taker strategies, affiliates with retail audiences could convert more clients and earn more commission.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Bybit launched an innovative affiliate program that transformed how crypto exchanges attract users through transparent performance tracking and targeted campaigns.

• The company focused on retaining users with a user-friendly product and responsive customer support, achieving a 60% retention rate among new registrations.

• Bybit's compensation structure aligns with retail client needs, leveraging taker volume and offering rebates, ensuring affiliates earn significantly from their promotions.