Important Message

Long story short:

On September 1, 2026, Bunz will shut down - unless…!!??

Short story long:

Dear Bunzers,

I am the first ever investor of Bunz, as of August 2015, and then the sole owner and director of Bunz Inc. since April 2020.

I decided to take over Bunz myself just before it was about to pull the plug - or right after its failed cryptocurrency adventure. Why? Because I had already invested a huge amount of money and I just wouldn't accept my company to be failed by other people's decisions, especially when I still believe in the core idea. It is ok for me to see succeeding my company by other people, but if it is to end, it can only happen under my management and decisions.

Since I was by myself from that point on, I decided to outsource the development. I first tried to facelift the app and add some new features, but it didn't work. The damage of the cryptocurrency adventure was way bigger than I expected - it had swept away all the trust and excitement from Bunz's loyal users once had. On top of that, we were technically stuck with the original architecture, which made structural changes nearly impossible. So I decided to rebuild Bunz from scratch.

The first thing I did was to find the best UI/UX design company in the world, the kind that comes up literally when you Google "best app UI/UX agency in the world." That Silicon Valley company did a great job. Then we moved into development, which is when things got complicated. After a couple of years working together, I needed to let the outsourced development team go - I won't go into details - but that decision is what led to the October 2022 update. We were forced to deploy an unfinished version. You naturally hated it, which you were 100% right. So the person you kept criticizing negatively - to put it mildly - was no one but me. 😊 I must say, some of you are very creative. 😊

However, after that, with the help of a couple of friends, we brought Bunz back to a level I'm genuinely proud of. As of December 2025, all the necessary features are in place, a theoretical sustainable financial architecture is set, and the app is working fine. A modern, back to its fundamental values kind of Bunz in my mind is finally created and deployed.

I was finally ready to face the outcome. However, the outcome so far is unfortunately nowhere near what I was expecting or what would keep Bunz self-sufficient. On top of that, due to the premature 2022 update, all the negative reviews are still sitting in the App Store and Play Store - no positive comments or reviews other than a few rare exceptions.

Yet, less than two hundred signed-in daily active users (excluding visitors). Mostly Toronto and Montreal. And not growing. Only an exceptionally high retention rate among users, which confuses me most.

Message received. And I intend to act as what it requires.

To be self-sufficient, Bunz needs ten thousand daily active users (DAU) in Toronto. That's the honest number. But here's what I also know: if we can reach one thousand DAU, it can ignite the network effect and a sustainable growth.

So, in view of the above, here's what my decision is: there'll be no more Bunz after 1 September 2026. This date should give you enough time to finalize all your trades and do your final GC swaps, since in order to get that right in the system it can take up to 2 months. It is also enough time to those who wants to give Bunz a last chance to sustainably live and stay. My goal is to end Bunz clean and clear, but I believe as the current leader of Bunz I am entitled to serve these two options. To be clear: I am at peace with either outcome. If I see healthy signs, I'll keep building this for you. If I don't, I'll be getting rid of a massive weight on my shoulders. Either way, on September 1st, my life gets better. The question is: what happens to yours?

On 1 September 2026, Tuesday night, unless we have 1,000 DAU in Toronto GTA and at least one cluster - a dorm, a like-minded group of people, a neighbourhood - is using Bunz happily and actively, the Bunz era will end.

Starting May 15th, I will post the DAU number every day on the Bunz feed.

For those who want Bunz to live:

You know what to do better than I do. But here's the minimum: Bunz only works in clusters - a dorm, a neighbourhood, a friend group, a community. Find yours. Bring them in. (What I learned so far is individual enthusiastic users don't make a change that much; Bunz only works in clusters.) Leave honest reviews on the App Store and Google Play. Share this post. Talk about it on Instagram, Twitter, Reddit. If you know a journalist, tell them this story. If you're an influencer or a celebrity, use your voice. If you're just you who believes in this idea, that's enough. Show up, trade, be present, and bring your group with you.

For those who want Bunz to die:

I'm with you too. Genuinely. If Bunz's time is up, let's end it cleanly and move on. But here's something worth knowing: the way to kill Bunz is not to complain about it. Complaints create noise. Noise creates attention. Attention brings new people. If you want Bunz dead, the most effective thing you can do is say nothing. Silence is the only thing that actually works.

And if you do want to complain, go ahead. Be my guest. I'll read every word. I might even amplify it myself. I'm not afraid of criticism. I never was.

Where I stand.

I am at peace with both outcomes. I will celebrate the day Bunz reaches a thousand daily active users in Toronto. And I will celebrate September 1st just as genuinely if we don't get there, because I will finally get my answer to a question that I kept asking myself for the last 10 years .

What I won't do is pretend. What I won't do is manipulate you into caring about something you don't actually care about. What I will do, though, is open my year 2000 Château Margaux on 1 September 2026, Tuesday night, right before I cancel Bunz's AWS account - that I've been keeping for a long time and waiting for a good reason to drink. ( see my personal bunz account f.j.b.e)

I've done my job. Ten years. Every dollar I had. Every decision mine to own.

Now it's your turn.

Either way - I'll see you on the other side.

Firat Eren

Founder & Director, Bunz Inc.

If you are still not bored and want to dig deeper, here's what you can do:

• Read our FAQ in order to see how I structured this arguably sustainable economy of Bunz, inspired by old Bunz that used to use metro coins for trading: FAQ
• Read my op-ed that has been published in thefutureeconomy.ca in order to know more about my logic behind this new Bunz I created: Rethinking Sustainability and Affordability Through Digital Bartering