Loan assistance platform scale and profits decline after new regulations, with many expanding into the crypto space and "going overseas"

ME News update: On April 6 (UTC+8), with multiple factors overlapping—including the official implementation of new regulations for consumer-loan referral and lending, and a slowdown in demand for consumer credit—many consumer-loan referral and lending platforms saw year-over-year declines in both revenue and loan-disbursement scale, resulting in a sharp drop in net profit. Some platforms are looking for second growth curves such as “going global” and investing in “the crypto industry.” The new regulations set out management requirements for referral and lending institutions, such as a “whitelist-based” system, and have in practice drawn clear compliance red lines for the online referral and lending industry.

It is reported that ahead of this year’s “3·15” International Consumer Rights Day, the National Financial Regulatory Administration held talks with relevant executives of Lixin, Qifu Technology, Jiayin Technology, Yiren Zhike, and Xinfly Technology. Platforms including Lixin and Yiren Zhike have already laid out overseas businesses, with Southeast Asia and Latin America becoming the main battlegrounds. Jiayin Technology has continued to develop the blockchain industry over the past two years; in 2024, it indirectly acquired 15% equity in the crypto exchange Thousand Whales Technology (BVI). Last year, it contributed HK$2.395 billion to invest in EXIO Group, one of the first batch of licensed virtual asset trading platforms in Hong Kong, approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. (Source: PANews)