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Nayuki Suddenly Removes Virtual Stocks?! This Marketing Move is Fast and Addictive!

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, On July 14, Nayuki announced through their ordering mini-program that due to the enthusiastic response to the virtual stock membership campaign, they decided to officially discontinue it after the day's game concludes at 16:00 on July 14. They also stated that to protect user rights, the virtual stocks held by participating members after the campaign ends

Nayuki's Virtual Stock Activity Ends Abruptly Amid Controversy

On July 14th, Nayuki Tea announced through its ordering mini-program that due to the enthusiastic response to the Nayuki virtual stock membership activity, the company decided to officially discontinue the activity after the day's game ended at 16:00 on July 14th.

Simultaneously, the company stated that to protect user rights, after the activity ended, the virtual stocks held by participating members would be automatically converted to Nayuki coins according to the principle favorable to users, with a conversion rate of 1 virtual stock to 6 Nayuki coins, between 17:10-18:00 on July 14th. However, many members reported that while the mini-program displayed the game ending time as 16:00, they received notification SMS messages around 20:00, by which time their virtual stocks had already been converted to Nayuki coins.

Virtual Stock Game Mechanics

On June 30th, Nayuki Tea announced on its official WeChat account that from that day forward, consumers would earn 1 Nayuki coin for every 1 yuan spent. Users could use Nayuki coins to buy/sell virtual stocks and become virtual shareholders.

Nayuki's virtual stocks are tied to the price fluctuations of Nayuki's real stocks (02150.HK). Virtual stock price = Nayuki's Hong Kong stock closing price on the trading day × the Hong Kong dollar to RMB exchange rate for that day (for example: if Nayuki's Hong Kong stock closes at 6 yuan on a certain trading day, users would need 6 Nayuki coins to buy 1 virtual stock; conversely, 1 virtual stock could be sold for 6 Nayuki coins that day). Additionally, users could choose x2, x5, or x10 leverage, and when users wanted to use leverage but lacked sufficient Nayuki coins, they could also borrow...

These borrowed coins lent to "shareholders" were also recovered by the platform during the game's conclusion and automatic exchange period on July 14th. However, Nayuki also stated that the number of Nayuki coins after the activity's exchange would be higher than the amount users had before participating in the activity, and consumers could still use Nayuki coins to redeem various coupons and gifts in the Nayuki store.

Public Backlash and Legal Concerns

Since Nayuki Tea launched its virtual stock game at 11 AM on June 30th, negative feedback flooded the internet within just 7 hours...

As the first milk tea stock, Nayuki is truly at the forefront of the metaverse... the first to launch digital collectibles, the first to introduce virtual personas, the first to offer virtual stocks... But with even Q coins facing regulation, and such strict supervision of the digital collectibles secondary market, how can they so brazenly bind it to real stock market trends while allowing leverage and selling?! Therefore, many netizens questioned whether such activities were legal.

Regarding these public doubts, several industry insiders who research the new-style tea beverage industry stated that Nayuki coins are essentially consumption points... virtual stocks are not actual stock trading and would not affect Nayuki's real stock price.

Yu Jianing, co-chairman of the Blockchain Special Committee of the China Communications Industry Association, told Zhongke Caijing that Nayuki's launch of Nayuki coins and virtual stock gameplay did not involve two-way exchange with RMB, nor did it profit through stored value exchanges for points. The virtual stock gameplay could only be exchanged for Nayuki coins to participate in discount activities on its own platform. Nayuki coins themselves do not generate actual returns for users, thus temporarily not touching legal red lines.

Yu Jianing also pointed out that Nayuki coins, issued based on actual consumption scenarios, currently do not violate regulations. However, there are still some extremely important considerations, such as not giving away network points 'Nayuki coins' in the form of stored value card top-ups, otherwise the Nayuki coins + virtual stock gameplay could easily be considered involved in online gambling activities.

Moreover, the platform must strictly control the exchange and use of points. If it fails to stop relevant advertisements or off-exchange activities by third-party platforms or individuals, the platform could also be considered as defaulting to reverse exchanges and thus charged with operating a casino. Although Nayuki's activity has temporarily not crossed legal red lines, this marketing model is quite aggressive, so other companies and brands should not simply emulate it. The slightest carelessness could lead to touching legal boundaries.

One legal team stated that Nayuki coins are "dancing on the edge of a knife!" Xiao Sa's legal team expressed that Nayuki coins face numerous legal controversy points and red line risks, including disputes over the legal nature of consumption tokens, risks of prepaid card business by payment institutions, online gambling risks, prize-linked sales risks, and risks of illegal public deposit absorption.

Marketing Strategy vs. Product Quality

From the analysis of various experts, it's clear that Nayuki Tea's goal isn't really these 50 million virtual shareholders, but rather to get more people to pay attention to the brand through netizens' sharing and discussions. Essentially, this virtual activity was a marketing campaign, because within 12 hours after the announcement, the Weibo topic #NayukiOffersVirtualStocksTo50MillionMembers received 200 million reads. Netizens also became new members of Nayuki and participated in this activity out of curiosity.

While this virtual stock activity certainly generated enough buzz for Nayuki Tea, can it really achieve more repeat purchases from consumers? As one of the representatives of high-end new-style tea beverages, Nayuki Tea has the industry's best average customer transaction value, yet frequently faces various food safety and product quality control issues.

In August 2021, two Nayuki stores in Beijing were exposed for having cockroaches running around, rotten fruit, unwashed rags, and inaccurate labeling. In October 2021, a Nayuki store in Shanghai was fined 50,000 yuan for producing and operating foods and food additives with false production dates, shelf lives, or exceeding shelf lives. In May 2022, a Nayuki store in Tianjin was fined 5,000 yuan for using expired milk.

At the end of May 2022, a woman in Shanghai bought a "baked rather tender" bread on a food delivery platform, an event that attracted widespread attention from netizens. Some netizens commented that Nayuki's product quality is not as good as before... The stronger their marketing efforts, the more disappointed I am...

If product quality and price cannot form a positive correlation, no amount of activities or collaborations can retain consumers' hearts. Rather than investing great effort in marketing, it's better to focus on making products well in a down-to-earth manner.

Image source: Internet

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