Crypto Rebate guides

Does Your Referral Rebate Survive a VIP Upgrade? VIP Levels and Rebate Rules at 13 Exchanges (2026)

Updated Rules checked 2026-10-11

A referral code rebate is a share of the referrer’s commission, and many exchanges stop or limit that commission once the invitee reaches a certain VIP level. When that happens, the invitee’s rebate usually goes too. This article puts together the VIP rules of the 13 exchanges covered on this site and explains how a VIP discount and a rebate combine.

All the information below comes from each exchange’s official pages, was checked on 2026-10-11, and is provided for reference.

The short answer

  • VIP limits stated: Binance, OKX, Bitget, Gate, KuCoin, HTX and Pionex. MEXC’s 2025 VIP announcement said invited users can’t get VIP status at all, but since VIP was renamed Alpha Trader on 2026-04-27, MEXC hasn’t said whether invited users can join.
  • No VIP limit stated officially: BingX, WEEX, XT.COM and Ourbit. Bitfinex has no VIP fee tiers.
  • The thresholds are high: the levels where rebates stop mostly take a 30-day trading volume of several million to over ten million USD, so typical traders are unlikely to reach them.
  • You can have a VIP discount and a rebate at the same time: most exchanges state that the rebate is based on the fee you actually pay, so the VIP rate applies first and the rebate is then refunded as a percentage of that fee.

At which VIP level does each exchange stop the rebate?

ExchangeLevel where the rebate stops or is limitedVIP 1 threshold (any one condition)
BinanceStops at VIP 3 and above; resumes after dropping back to VIP 2 or belowHold 5 BNB, plus one of: 30-day spot volume of 1 million USD, futures volume of 5 million USD, assets of 100,000 USD, or a 30-day average net borrowing of 100,000 USD
OKXVIP5 and VIP6 have a monthly commission cap; VIP7 and above earn no commissionAssets of 100,000 USD, or 30-day spot volume of 1 million USD, futures volume of 5 million USD, or options volume of 3 million USD
BitgetStandard referrals: nothing is paid once the invitee reaches VIP 3 or above; the affiliate program states no VIP limit30-day spot volume of 500,000 USDT, futures volume of 5 million USDT, or assets of 30,000 USDT
GateTrades by users at VIP 11 or above generate no commission30-day trading volume of 60,000 USD (futures volume counts at 40%), a 14-day average holding of 50 GT, or assets of 2,000 USD
KuCoinStandard referrals: VIP 3 and above earn no commission; the affiliate program announcement gives both LV3 and LV4 on the same pageHold 1,000 KCS, or 30-day spot volume of 1 million USDT, futures volume of 5 million USDT, or a 30-day average net borrowing of 200,000 USDT
HTXPrime 9 and above earn no commission; invitees are capped at Prime 8 by default30-day spot volume of 30,000 USDT, futures volume of 300,000 USDT, assets of 5,000 USDT, or holding HTX worth 1,000 USDT
PionexWhen an invitee of a non-KOL referrer reaches VIP2 or above, the referrer no longer gets the full commission (the size of the reduction isn’t stated)30-day spot volume of 20 BTC, futures volume of 3 million USDT, or assets of 50,000 USDT
MEXCVIP renamed Alpha Trader (A1–A7) on 2026-04-27; the 2025 VIP announcement said invited users can’t get VIP, and the Alpha Trader page doesn’t mention invited users (not stated officially)A1: monthly volume of 10 million USDT on non-zero-fee pairs, or 30 million USDT on zero-fee pairs; you must also keep VVIP Elite status (M-Score ≥ 800) and activate it through the MEXC Telegram bot; per-tier fees not published (checked 2026-10-22)
BingXNot stated officially30-day spot volume of 1 million USDT, futures volume of 10 million USDT, or assets of 50,000 USDT (2023 announcement; an Elite tier was added in 2026)
WEEXNot stated officiallyFutures: 30-day volume of 1 million USDT, holding 5,000 WXT, or 5-day average assets of 10,000 USDT; spot: 30-day volume of 500,000 USDT
XT.COMNot stated officially; XT can adjust VIP levels or rebates if trading quality declines30-day average assets of 30,000 USDT, spot volume of 20,000 USDT, or futures volume of 200,000 USDT
OurbitNot stated officiallyTotal equity of 10,000 USDT, or 30-day futures volume of 1 million USDT
BitfinexNo VIP fee tiers; the funding fee rebate starts at 6% and drops by 0.5% every 30 daysNo published VIP threshold (trading fees are currently 0)

At most exchanges you move up a VIP level by meeting any one condition, and the table lists only VIP 1. The levels where rebates stop are usually much higher. KuCoin’s VIP 3, for example, takes 6 million USDT of 30-day spot volume or 16 million USDT of futures volume. Binance also states that users invited before 2026-07-21 keep the old VIP 3 threshold until 2026-10-21.

How do a VIP discount and a referral code rebate combine?

Every exchange that states its calculation basis says the rebate is based on the fee you actually pay. OKX, Bitget, HTX, MEXC and Ourbit call it the net fee; KuCoin, WEEX and BingX call it the fee actually paid, and BingX and WEEX add that when a fee discount applies, the discounted amount is used.

Example: the standard fee rate is 0.1%, it drops to 0.08% after a VIP upgrade, and the rebate rate is 20%. On a 10,000 USDT trade, the fee is 8 USDT and the rebate is 8 × 20% = 1.6 USDT, for an actual cost of 6.4 USDT. You get both the VIP discount and the rebate; the rebate is just calculated on a smaller base.

Each exchange’s current standard fee rate and its rate after the rebate are listed in actual fees after referral code rebates.

What can you do as you approach the VIP rebate threshold?

  • Work out which is cheaper first: compare the VIP rate after the upgrade with the standard rate minus the rebate. In the example above, a 0.1% standard rate minus a 20% rebate comes to 0.08%. If the VIP rate after the upgrade is lower than that, upgrading is cheaper even without a rebate.
  • Binance: invitees at VIP 3 or above no longer get the referral discount. Binance states that the referral commission resumes once the invitee drops back to VIP 2 or below.
  • HTX: when an invitee reaches Prime 8, they can choose to keep upgrading or to stay at Prime 8 and keep generating commission for the referrer. To upgrade further, HTX says you can contact an account manager.
  • High-volume traders: KuCoin, WEEX and Pionex all state that dedicated staff or account managers handle plans for large traders and partners.

Official sources

FAQ

Does signing up with a referral code affect my VIP level?

Most exchanges don’t say that a referral code affects your VIP level. The ones that do: MEXC’s 2025 VIP announcement says invited users can’t get VIP status (since the switch to Alpha Trader on 2026-04-27, MEXC hasn’t said whether invited users can join); HTX caps invitees at Prime 8 by default; and at Bitget, the referrer can give the invitee a VIP trial at the referrer’s own level.

Does the rebate come back after dropping to a lower level?

Binance states that the referral commission resumes once the invitee drops back to VIP 2 or below, and the invitee’s rebate is a share of that commission. The other exchanges don’t say what happens after a downgrade.

The rebate stopped after I upgraded. Has my referral code expired?

Usually the code hasn’t expired; you’ve gone past the VIP level the exchange allows. Check your VIP level in your account first, then compare it with the table above. Other reasons a rebate may not show up are covered in how to check a missing rebate.

At which VIP level does Binance stop the rebate?

VIP 3 and above. Binance states that invitees at VIP 3 or above no longer get the referral discount, and that the referral commission resumes once they drop back to VIP 2 or below.

Binance also states that users invited before 2026-07-21 keep the old VIP 3 threshold until 2026-10-21.

At which VIP level is the OKX rebate affected?

OKX states that VIP5 and VIP6 have a monthly commission cap, and VIP7 and above earn no commission. The invitee’s rebate is split from the referrer’s commission, so when that commission is capped or stops, the rebate is usually affected too.

OKX’s VIP 1 threshold is assets of 100,000 USD, or 30-day spot volume of 1 million USD, futures volume of 5 million USD, or options volume of 3 million USD; meeting any one of these conditions moves you up.

Which exchanges don’t state a VIP limit?

The official pages of BingX, WEEX, XT.COM and Ourbit don’t state a VIP limit; Bitfinex has no VIP fee tiers.

XT.COM also states that if trading quality drops, XT can adjust your VIP level or rebate.

You can compare every exchange’s referral code and automatic rebate rate in one place on the exchange referral code overview.