A Letter to the Longbridge Community

Regulation may prevent some long-time users from trading anymore, but many still want to stay to chat, read posts, and find old friends. This is not the end of Longbridge, but rather an opportunity to incubate a community platform.

What's the problem?

A mahjong parlor no longer allows playing, but the old regulars still want to sit down and have tea.

On May 22, 2026, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) filed cases against Longbridge, Futu, and Tiger Brokers, giving a two-year transition period: some existing users can only sell, can no longer buy, and cannot transfer money in. After two years, domestic trading functions will be completely shut down.

These are losses for users who only want to trade stocks, but the impact may be even greater for those old Longbridge community members who no longer trade much but spend every day hanging out in the community, posting, following threads, and learning.

What they fear is not the platform disappearing, but losing touch with the people they've been chatting with for years. It's like a mahjong parlor: even though you can't play anymore, the regulars care more about where to gather next time to discuss today's game. As long as you can keep the people, it's fine to change the place for tea.

Longbridge actually already has two good cards, it just needs the final step.

Longbridge hasn't been idle this past year or so, and its direction is right.

The first card is Longbridge Cafe. It invested over ten million in annual rent to open a flagship store of several thousand square feet in Tsim Sha Tsui, regularly holding salons, and offering beer discounts when the stock price falls. This is equivalent to moving the online forum to the coffee table; the offline social base is already established.

The second card is the LongPort community. Many old users privately call it the Greater Bay Area version of Xueqiu. It has content incentives, AI-powered financial report reading, and community activity has increased over tenfold in a year.

The problem now is that these two cards are played separately. The online community is attached to the trading app; when the trading app closes, the community goes with it. The offline cafe is lively but disconnected from the online users.

It's like having two groups of guests: one eating upstairs, one drinking tea downstairs, but the staircase is broken.

How exactly to do it?

Turn the rough space into an independent teahouse, e.g., a pure community version app

In the current Longbridge app, trading is the main course, and the community is the side dish. When regulation hits, the main course can't be served, but the side dish can be served separately, opening an independent teahouse.

The specific approach is simple:

• Create an independent LongPort community app, or launch a web version first, with no stock trading, no deposits/withdrawals, only posting, commenting, and creating circles.
• Old users log in directly with their original accounts. Who they followed, who followed them, posts they made—all are preserved and migrated with one click.
• Host servers overseas to avoid the regulatory red lines for domestic securities business.

This way, even if trading functions are shut down, the teahouse remains. Old regulars can enter with just their card, and the tea at their seat is still warm.

You can also give each old regular a contact list, creating a social relationship export tool.

What users are truly anxious about isn't the platform disappearing, but losing the people inside. It's like your favorite restaurant closing down; you're sad not about the bowl of noodles, but about the people you ate them with.

So Longbridge can do something simple but highly valuable:

• Allow users to export their follow lists, follower lists, and historical posts, like exporting contacts from an old phone.
• Create a "Find Old Friends" feature using encrypted matching of phone numbers or emails to help everyone find their previously connected old Longbridge friends in the new independent community.

This is not technically complex but has immense psychological value. It tells users that Longbridge doesn't lock people in; Bridge Uncle and Sister Qiao will help you find who you're looking for.

Move the cafe's tables online, integrating the online community and offline activities.

Longbridge has already invested heavily in opening its Tsim Sha Tsui store; this move shouldn't just be a 网红打卡点. It can be made into a closed loop of online organizing and offline meetings:

• Add an offline events section in the community app where local users can initiate small tea gatherings, strategy meetings, with locations at Longbridge Cafes or other partner venues.
• Establish a city circle host system: let active, senior users be circle hosts responsible for organizing local activities. Longbridge provides the venue and coffee vouchers; the hosts provide the people and atmosphere.
• Create some old Longbridge friend certification badges: tiered based on post volume, interaction count, and quality posts, offering discounts or exclusive seats at offline events based on badges.

This way, online posts are for chatting, and offline coffee is for meeting. Those who click online can meet for a drink; after drinking, they continue chatting online. Once this cycle runs smoothly, user stickiness will be stronger than any trading function.

Why must it be done now?

If Longbridge does nothing, where will those old Longbridge friends go after the app closes in two years?

• Some will go to Xueqiu, which already has a mature Chinese investment community.
• Some will go to Discord or Telegram, creating their own groups, but those scattered groups often fizzle out quickly; others will simply stop chatting altogether, losing contact completely.

This isn't just about Longbridge losing users; it's about the entire community ecosystem being instantly drained. It's like a pond: if the water is slowly drained, the fish will jump out on their own.

Conversely, if Longbridge takes the lead in launching an independent community and provides seamless social relationship migration, it not only retains its own people but may also attract users from Futu and Tiger Brokers—their trading functions will also close, but your community remains open.

This is a rare defensive counterattack opportunity during an industry reshuffle.

In short, just three steps

1. First, create a small social relationship export tool to let users know they won't be trapped, stabilizing morale.
2. Launch the independent LongPort community (web version first, app to follow)，配合 a "Find Old Friends" feature, completing the switch from a trading platform to a social platform.
3. Expand the offline Cafe network, combined with online event tools, making "online chat + offline meet" the norm.

This wave of regulation is a blow to all cross-border brokers. But what makes Longbridge different is that it already has two cards others don't: a content-rich community and a warm cafe.

The old Longbridge friends who only chat and don't trade are not a burden; they are the most valuable asset for this transition. As long as they feel the people are still there, the topics are still there, and old friends can still be found, they won't leave. While other brokers count down to being cleared out, Longbridge has the opportunity to open a new teahouse during the countdown.

As for the business model, as long as there is traffic, something can always be figured out. Those who originally came to Longbridge are likely middle-class or above; they have certain spending power. Hopefully, Longbridge will cherish its community members.

• @Longbridge Xiao Qiao
• @Bridge Uncle who does livestreaming sales
• @Boss's Boss AI Exec