Nexo: how the referral works

What is Nexo?

Nexo is a multi-jurisdictional crypto platform that combines three product layers into a single app. The first is a regular crypto exchange for buying and selling spot tokens. The second is an earn product where users allocate crypto in exchange for an interest yield paid by Nexo. The third is a crypto-backed loan product where users borrow fiat or stablecoins against deposited crypto, rather than selling the crypto and triggering a tax event. Of those three, the earn and loan products are the historical centre of gravity for the brand and the source of the regulatory complexity that has shaped the platform’s evolution.

The category is structurally important to understand. Crypto earn products are not bank savings products. When a user allocates crypto to earn, the platform takes that crypto and deploys it — typically through a mix of lending, market-making, and other strategies — and pays a return out of the resulting revenue. The user is therefore an unsecured creditor of the platform for the duration of the allocation, not a depositor with deposit-guarantee protection. This is the canonical source of counterparty risk that has affected several other earn-product platforms in the past few years and is the reason Nexo’s product disclosures are written carefully.

How the referral works

The link on this page enters the Nexo sign-up flow. After identity verification, the in-app welcome screen displays the active welcome promo and the qualifying deposit and activity step required to unlock it. Historically, that step has been a combination of a first deposit and a qualifying swap or earn allocation, with the bonus paid in crypto rather than in fiat. The exact figure, the qualifying step, and the validity window are whatever the welcome screen shows at sign-up; that screen is the binding promo text.

The bonus pays in crypto. As with most crypto-platform welcome offers, that means the EUR value of the credit drifts with market price after settlement, and there may be a holding period or qualifying activity requirement before the bonus is withdrawable. Read the in-app text.

Who Nexo is for

Nexo suits users who specifically want a crypto-backed loan product — the ability to borrow against deposited crypto without selling it is a useful tool for tax-efficient access to liquidity in jurisdictions where crypto disposals are taxed — and who understand the counterparty-risk profile of crypto earn products. The unified app, with exchange, earn, and loan in one place, is genuinely convenient for users who already use all three.

It is less of a fit for users whose primary goal is buy-and-hold spot exposure to BTC or ETH; that need is met more cleanly by a custody-focused exchange like Kraken or by self-custody. It is also not a fit for users who do not want to be an unsecured creditor of the platform, because the earn product is structurally a credit relationship.

Regulatory posture

Nexo’s regulatory positioning is multi-jurisdictional and has evolved substantially in recent years, including settlements with multiple US regulators that resulted in the wind-down of the US earn product. In the EU, Nexo serves customers through specific entities and is migrating onto the MiCA crypto-asset service provider regime as the regulation rolls out across the EU during 2024–2026. Operator verification of the MiCA authorisation status of the relevant Nexo entity against the ESMA register is part of our methodology and is published per-brand on the methodology page rather than asserted in body copy.

Several Nexo earn tiers and product features are restricted in specific EU member states under local rules; the in-app product menu reflects what is available to your specific account.

Things to watch for

• Earn products carry counterparty risk. Your allocated crypto is not custody-only; it is deployed by the platform. Read the in-app legal disclosures before allocating any material amount.
• Loan products carry liquidation risk. If the value of your collateral falls below the loan-to-value threshold, the platform can liquidate the collateral. The in-app loan calculator is the operative tool for understanding that exposure.
• Yield rates are not promises. They reflect what the platform can pay out of its current operations and can be revised. The in-app rate page is the binding figure at any moment.
• Jurisdictional availability. Several earn tiers are restricted in specific EU member states. The in-app menu is the binding source.

Conclusion

Nexo is a useful tool for users who specifically need a crypto-backed loan or who understand the counterparty profile of a crypto earn product and want a unified app for exchange, earn, and lending. It is not a substitute for a custody-only exchange or for self-custody, and the welcome bonus is small relative to the structural product decisions a user is making by signing up. Tap the link, complete onboarding, and the in-app welcome screen will display the binding terms for the bonus.