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How the fee data is read

One class of figure on this site is read from source on a cycle: the entry-tier fee schedule. Everything else — bonus ceilings, referral terms, KYC policy, founding year, headquarters — is quoted as the exchange publishes it, and is not re-checked on that cycle. The two are kept visibly apart because only one of them carries a read date.

1. Open each exchange's own fee schedule and transcribe the entry-tier spot and USDT-margined futures rates.
2. Record the page that was read and the date it was read; that date is the stamp shown beside the figure.
3. Re-read at least every 45 days. The build refuses to publish on older data, so a stale cycle stops the site rather than ageing quietly.
4. Where a schedule cannot be read in a cycle, that exchange keeps its previous read date and carries a dated caveat instead of borrowing the cycle date.

Company-level facts (founded, headquarters) come from the exchange's own about page and CoinGecko's exchange entry. Bonus ceilings and referral percentages come from the exchange's promotion page, quoted at face value: we do not audit the tiers behind them.

Each report cites the sources it rests on, and the exchange reports link the fee page each figure was transcribed from. If you find a stale figure, email research@how-to-buy-bitcoin.today with the URL; confirmed corrections are dated in the log below.

Corrections and re-verification log

Each verification cycle is recorded here, including cycles that changed nothing. A figure that was wrong on this site is corrected in the data and noted below, not silently overwritten.

• 2026-09-17 — Restored the September 2023 HTX hack, which the earlier rewrite of the November note removed by accident. It is inside our published window and its removal made an exchange’s record look better than it is; it now carries its own source. Rebate ceilings for OKX and Weex are written as ceilings across the reports too, not only the exchange pages.
• 2026-09-17 — Checked every security record against the article behind it. The OKX note asserted a June 2024 incident missing from the cited piece and a reimbursement that was only promised; XT.com asserted a withdrawal halt and “company funds” that CoinDesk does not report; Gate.io asserted an unsourced denial of 2024 rumours; all three are cut back. Bitget’s compensation is described as offered, and HTX no longer claims the bridge losses were explicitly excluded — only that we found no statement covering them. MEXC’s “clawed-back profits” is now “forfeited balances”. Separately, the KYC report still listed Bybit among exchanges allowing trading without verification; that row is gone and the count corrected to two. An earlier entry here claimed that removal was already complete across the site; it was not, and this corrects it.
• 2026-09-17 — The largest data correction this desk has made. Every listed-asset count was re-read from each exchange’s own public instruments endpoint, and all eleven were wrong — the worst by more than 3x: Binance 350 → 494, OKX 320 → 408, Bybit 280 → 396, Gate.io 2,500 → 2,066, MEXC 1,800 → 1,595, HTX 700 → 592, Bitget 600 → 2,171, BingX 700 → 2,225, XT.com 800 → 996, BTSE 200 → 295. Weex’s endpoint returned an error, so its count still carries its 2026-05-18 read. Every catalog-depth claim in the index was restated as a result: MEXC was never the widest catalog here, BingX is. Bybit’s KYC field moved from “Optional/Tiered” to “Required”, and it was removed from every optional-KYC list on this site. All eleven exchanges also gained a security record covering the trailing 36 months with a source; five carried an incident this desk had never disclosed. Separately, futures taker rates now show three decimals, so Bybit and BTSE read as the published 0.055% rather than a rounded 0.06%, and Weex gained the maker/taker split its schedule publishes.
• 2026-09-07 — Cycle re-read ten of the eleven published fee schedules in a browser. Three corrections to the entry-tier data: Gate.io spot taker 0.20% → 0.10%; HTX USDT-margined futures taker 0.04% → 0.06%; XT.com USDT-margined futures maker 0.04% → 0.02%. Three citation URLs had gone dead (Bitget, HTX, BingX) and now point at the pages transcribed. The Weex rate table did not render during the cycle; its entry carries a dated caveat. The fee comparison report was re-issued as the September 2026 edition.
• 2026-09-06 — Headline metrics (data points, median spot fee) are now computed from the dataset at build time rather than stored as literals.
• 2026-08-29 — OKX referral code changed to GOGOTRADE on every page; the previous code no longer attaches to our programme.
• 2026-05-18 — Weex rate card read (the only schedule still carrying this date; the September cycle could not render it).
• 2026-05-07 — Initial read of all eleven fee schedules; first edition of every report.

Welcome-bonus ceilings and rebate percentages are quoted as published on each exchange's referral programme page; they are not part of the fee re-verification and change more often than fee schedules.

How we make money

This publication earns affiliate commissions when readers register at exchanges through our referral links. The exchange pays the commission from its own marketing budget. This does not change the fee discount or welcome bonus the reader receives.

Affiliate commission rates are roughly equivalent across all 11 exchanges in our index, so there is no incentive to rank a worse exchange higher. Ranking accurately drives more sign-ups long-term, which is the model we operate on.

Our editorial commitments

• We never accept paid placement to bump rankings.
• We never write sponsored reviews disguised as editorial.
• We never list an exchange that fails the security or regulatory baseline.
• We disclose affiliate relationships on every page that contains affiliate links.
• Confirmed corrections are applied to the dataset and dated in the corrections log above; there is no silent overwrite.

Contact

For factual corrections, methodology questions, or data partnerships: research@how-to-buy-bitcoin.today. We aim for under 48-hour response on corrections; longer for general inquiries.

Disclaimer

HTBB Research publishes information and analysis for educational purposes. Nothing on this publication constitutes financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Cryptocurrency trading carries substantial risk of loss — never invest funds you cannot afford to lose. Always do your own research and consider consulting a licensed advisor before placing a trade. Exchange fee schedules, bonus offers and rebate terms can change without notice — always confirm current terms on the exchange's own site before depositing.

Privacy

This publication is a static site. It loads one third-party tag: Google Ads conversion tracking (gtag.js), which tells us whether an ad click ended in a page view. No account, email or payment data is collected here, and nothing we hold is sold, rented or passed on. When you click an affiliate link and register at an exchange, you become subject to that exchange's privacy policy.