When I started supporting early B2B integrations in crypto and fintech, most partners viewed exchanges purely as liquidity sources. But by 2023–2024, this view had shifted: an exchange became more than just an order book—it evolved into a full-fledged marketing and monetization channel. This became especially evident as more companies expanded to global markets.
It was around this time I began recommending broker programs to clients—not just as an API access point, but as a true growth tool. One of the most well-structured cases on the market today, as confirmed by ResearchAndMarkets (which listed such co-branded partnership models with integrated marketing as one of the top 3 B2B growth drivers in the digital asset sector in 2024), is the broker program run by one of the leading European centralized exchanges with strong institutional traction.
What Is a Broker Program, and Why Does It Matter for B2B Platforms?
A broker model allows you to connect an exchange to your product (be it a terminal, aggregator, wallet, or fintech app) and earn a percentage of trading activity. This enables you to:
Monetize existing traffic,
Increase user engagement,
Scale into new markets without building your own trading infrastructure.
According to the KPMG "Q1’24 Venture Pulse Report – Global trends" report, 38% of European fintech companies already use broker or white-label models to offer crypto trading. This is not a trend—it’s an established growth strategy.
How Broker Models Drive B2B Growth
Let’s explore this through the broker program of WhiteBIT—one of Europe’s leading platforms, with an annual trading volume exceeding $2.7 trillion and ecosystem capitalization of over $38.7 billion, all while offering clear conditions for B2B integrations.
Let me break down each benefit from the perspective of market relevance and real-world effectiveness—as seen through the lens of a business developer.
WhiteBIT offers not just API access but a complete partner ecosystem:
Up to 40% revenue share on trades made through the broker platform.
As a bizdev, I see this as a major strength in financial modeling: a high revenue share makes integration economically viable within weeks of launch. This is critical for startups and established terminals alike—where every percentage point counts.
20% revenue share even if the user was previously referred by someone else.
I find this model fair and motivating—it acknowledges a broker’s contribution even in secondary user activations. It also reduces channel conflict and builds trust in the partnership framework.
Custom terms for aggregators, terminals, and fintech services.
In practice, this flexibility allows partners to negotiate custom limits and adapt payout structures to their growth strategy. In B2B, one-size-fits-all rarely works.
Fast integration, flexible documentation, and hands-on technical support.
In the projects I’ve led, onboarding speed was often a make-or-break factor. When integration takes days—not months—you can test hypotheses quickly and scale without burning out your team or budget.
WhiteBIT also supports its partners with robust marketing tools:
Announcements in social media and crypto industry blogs,
Co-branded AMA sessions with the platform team,
Dedicated trading tournaments for broker-sourced users, with rewards based on volume.
This structure makes the broker model especially appealing to companies scaling internationally—not only to monetize traffic, but also to leverage exchange-level resources for visibility and growth.
When Embedded Models Work: The Atani x Kraken Case
Another proof point for broker model effectiveness is the partnership between Atani and Kraken. Atani is a multi-exchange terminal focused on the European retail market. After integrating Kraken as a broker partner:
Users were able to execute trades directly within Atani’s interface without switching to the exchange,
Kraken expanded its user base via a more trader-friendly UX, and saw sustained growth in new account creation via broker channels. Internal reports cited by platform reps in industry interviews noted that up to 18% of new users in Europe started their trading activity through partner terminals. This not only broadened Kraken’s reach but also allowed for more localized UX-driven engagement and improved trader LTV,
Atani implemented built-in analytics and commission tracking tools, simplifying traffic monetization and creating a more transparent model. Even more importantly, the partnership helped increase user LTV by retaining more traders within the Atani interface and boosting average trading volumes. Their team also gained access to richer behavioral insights, enabling better optimization of the product for active users.
For me, this case shows that the success of broker models isn’t just about trade volume. It’s about the quality of user experience. Clarity, transparency, and unified analytics aren’t abstract principles—they directly influence retention, trade frequency, and even NPS. When the interface is intuitive, fees are clear, and performance data is accessible in one place—conversion goes up. That’s exactly what I’ve seen firsthand across several projects.
What I’m Seeing Now: The Rise of Global and API-First Strategies
I strongly believe broker integrations are becoming must-haves for any infrastructure product that aims to operate across jurisdictions. And I’m not saying this hypothetically—over the past six months, more and more clients have come to me specifically asking how to implement broker models. These include early-stage startups and mature fintech platforms testing new monetization channels or moving to multi-exchange frameworks. The demand is steady and rising—this is becoming the industry norm.
Especially for products with multi-currency and multi-exchange logic, broker partnerships offer scalable, low-friction expansion paths.
My recommendation: start with one partner—but choose one that offers more than API access. Look for an ecosystem that supports growth. If your partner delivers not only commissions, but also marketing, onboarding support, and development opportunities—that’s not just a vendor. That’s a strategic gateway.
