This was going to be (Was actually??) looking to be a big breaking point between the community of the time and Wonderstruck.
Much needed IMO but also opinions varied widely.
For reference a CHF today is about 1.09 USD if you have a look at that chart.
James did say, roughly, something to the effect that they weren’t going to take anything earned (cubits/plots/skill/cleanse points) from existing characters but levels would be adjusted to the new curve according to existing XP and progression would go from there.
It was going to be a lot of change.
To be fair though, that aspect would perhaps align well with Monumental’s needs 
EDIT:
I just want to add while I’m thinking about it (sorry I’m very sleepy right now) that the gameplay/feature changes can be looked at separately from the progression rebalancing.
All of the new in-game features were, IMO, very desirable.
The progression changes were not as welcome, however if things had been like that from the beginning the game might be in a very different place today.
In any case for those who are used to the very giving nature of the current game it was going to be a rough transition.