What are people‘s take on why they *really* did this change? What are the reasons they haven‘t told anyone about?

I think V's saying they want to optimize for a new user experience is legit.

Many people criticized FC for how hard it is to get engagement when you're a new user, how much your success on the app is tied to being friends with the Merkle team, and so on. And getting rid of these 'Faristocracy medallions' would be a move to address it.