Crypto rev share vs CPA: six months of running both on the same traffic

Split the same traffic source 50/50 between a CPA deal and a rev share deal at the same exchange. Six months. Here is why I will never take CPA on crypto again.

CPA side
$180 per qualified signup (deposit $100+). 214 conversions. $38,520 total. Paid promptly, predictable, done.

Rev share side
35% of trading fees, lifetime. 198 conversions.
Month 1: $2,140
Month 2: $4,880
Month 3: $6,210
Month 4: $5,940
Month 5: $9,180
Month 6: $11,420
Total: $39,770

The part that matters
Rev share has already passed CPA and month 6 alone is nearly a third of what the whole CPA cohort paid. Eleven of those 198 users account for 71% of the revenue.

The risks nobody mentions

• Those eleven users can stop trading next week and the line goes flat
• Negative carryover exists at some networks — read for it, walk away if you find it
• If the exchange changes the fee structure your income changes with it and you have no say
• Six months of deferred income is a cash flow problem if you are buying traffic

If you cannot float your ad spend for four months, take the CPA. If you can, rev share is not close.

Eleven users at 71% is the whole post. Rev share on crypto is a bet on finding whales, and whale discovery has nothing to do with how good your funnel is.

True, and it cuts both ways — I did nothing clever to find them and I can do nothing clever to replace them.

Negative carryover is the clause that has ended more affiliates than any algorithm. If it is in the contract, the answer is no, regardless of the rate.

What happens to the lifetime part if you stop sending traffic? Is it actually lifetime or lifetime-while-active?

Two of the four networks I have dealt with have an activity clause — stop sending for 90 days and the tail stops. Read for that too.

Cash flow point is underrated. Four months of deferred revenue while paying for traffic weekly has killed businesses with better unit economics than this.

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