How Bybit affiliate codes work, when eligible accounts can add one within 14 days, and how fee cashback differs from a welcome bonus.
What the code actually does
When you create a Bybit account, the exchange records which affiliate introduced you. From that point on, Bybit pays that affiliate a commission on every trading fee your account generates, for as long as the account trades.
This happens whether or not you enter a code. If you sign up with no referral at all, the commission simply is not paid out and the exchange keeps it. There is no version where the money stays with you by default.
The commission is not added to your fees. You pay Bybit's standard published rate either way — 0.020% maker and 0.055% taker on futures at the entry tier. The code decides where the affiliate share of that fee goes, not how large the fee is.
So the question a referral code answers is: does that share go to a stranger, or does it come back to you? A cashback platform is an affiliate that returns most of the commission to the trader who generated it, which is the only arrangement where the answer is the second one.
Adding an affiliate code after registration
Bybit allows eligible main accounts to apply to add an affiliate code within 14 days of registration if no affiliate or referral code is already registered. This applies to affiliate codes, not referral codes from ordinary users.
Regional restrictions apply. Market maker and institutional accounts are excluded. An affiliate code added this way cannot be cancelled or changed.
If your account is ineligible or already linked elsewhere, ask support to confirm your options before creating another account or transferring identity verification. A transfer is not a guaranteed route to cashback. Read the official exchange guide.
Two different things people conflate
A Bybit sign-up gets you two separate benefits, and they come from different places.
| Welcome bonus | Fee cashback | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid by | Bybit | the affiliate, from its commission |
| How often | once | on every trade, indefinitely |
| Form | trading credit with conditions | USDT, withdrawable |
| Depends on | deposit and volume tiers | the fees you generate |
The welcome bonus is the one that gets advertised, because a large headline number is easy to put on a banner. It is a maximum tied to deposit tiers, usually paid as credit against fees rather than as cash, and it happens once.
Cashback is the smaller-sounding one that is worth far more to anyone who trades regularly. On 5,000,000 USDT of monthly futures volume at Bybit's 0.055% taker rate, the annual fees are 33,000 USDT — a share of which comes back every year, not once.
How to check your account is actually linked
Entering a code in a form is not proof it registered. Two things confirm it:
- 1Open the account through the link, not by typing the code. The link carries the attribution directly and removes the step where it can silently fail. On Bybit the referral field is then pre-filled.
- 2Submitting a UID creates a pending request. We verify the partner relationship against exchange reporting; this step does not instantly approve cashback.
Your UID is on your Bybit profile page. It is a public account number, not a credential: it cannot be used to log in, trade, or move funds, which is why it is the only thing a cashback platform needs.
The honest summary
Guides and comparisons: Bybit.
Account options vary by exchange. Choose your account status in the setup flow, follow the official verification requirements and submit the eligible UID for review. Linking an exchange, step by step.
Open the Bybit setup