Recent regulatory adjustments by leading exchanges have surfaced once again. This time, it's not just about changing commissions, but shifting the KOL system from a passive earning model to a performance-based assessment—introducing KPI mechanisms, where new user acquisition must meet targets to retain existing income; if not, commissions are cut.

At first glance, it appears to be "optimizing incentives," but upon closer inspection, this is a standard tactic in a bear market: shifting costs downstream, embedding growth pressures into terms, and masking "redundancies" with numbers. The exchange's financial reports look poor, market sentiment is cold, user trading frequency declines, fee income shrinks, layoffs are hard to admit, so instead, they turn the incentive mechanism—cost issues become "efficiency issues."

Even more aggressive moves are coming. Recently, on mainstream platforms like WeChat, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, the search availability for certain top exchange Chinese names has significantly decreased, and new user acquisition channels have been sharply narrowed. This is not just a change in terms; it's a direct shift from "open recruitment" to a "滴管模式"—making it harder for new users to find and reach.

When new user acquisition becomes high-cost and low-conversion, the chain reaction becomes clear. Rule adjustments, tightened entry points, and doubled cost pressures—at this stage, layoffs are no longer just "structural optimization," but an inevitable exit. The industry is undergoing a deep adjustment.