What this is
The product’s terms set auto-renewal as the default and either state that renewed terms may differ or expose only a very short opt-out window (24 to 48 hours is typical). At maturity, silence is treated as acceptance of the next period’s terms. Those terms can carry a different rate, lockup, or penalty schedule, with the most common combination being a lower rate paired with a freshly restarted penalty window.
What it means for you
Failing to opt out within the window enrolls the principal in another holding period under the new terms, with a fresh penalty schedule reset to zero. An exit attempt at that point can trigger the early-exit penalty as well, compounding the loss. The trap requires active management of the maturity date and cannot be left to product defaults.
In practice
A CEX 30-day USDT product: auto-renewal is on by default, the terms state that renewed parameters may change, and the opt-out window is 24 hours. After 30 days, a user who does not cancel inside the window has the position rolled into a new period. The renewed APR typically runs 1 to 2 percentage points below the original, and a fresh 30-day penalty window begins from day zero. An exit attempt at this point triggers the early-exit penalty in addition.