Bartering community Bunz defends cryptocurrency plan

TORONTO — Bunz, the Canadian online bartering community known for promoting a cash-free economy, is not abandoning its ethos with plans to launch its own cryptocurrency, company CEO Sascha Mojtahedi said Monday in the wake of some user revolt.

Founded in Toronto in 2013 by Emily Bitze, Bunz began as a Facebook group that encouraged users to trade their unwanted goods rather than seeking cash. Because users’ wish lists didn’t always align neatly, booze, transit tokens and — somewhat controversially — gift cards became commonly requested in trades.

On Monday, Bunz announced it was launching BTZ, a digital currency for the community that can also be used at participating retailers. Mojtahedi said BTZ is not yet an actual cryptocurrency, but the plan is to eventually convert it into one. New and existing users of the Bunz app will get 1,000 units of BTZ, which the company said has a current value of about three coffees.

“Because it’s a bartering community we’ve had a number of issues around value disparity ... the divisibility of goods and all these problems can be solved by a cryptocurrency,” Mojtahedi said. “I think this just gives our community more flexibilty.”

The initial reaction to the announcement on social media leaned negative, with Facebook user Melissa Neill writing “So much for subverting capitalism” and Ray Wilkes posting “RIP Bunz spirit & integrity.”

“Develop something to help poor people get around the financial constraints of capitalism. Capitalize the hell out of it. Develop your own currency for it [but don’t call it money lol]. Stand back and watch something that was once beautiful die a protracted, awkward death,” Wilkes added.

Mojtahedi said the launch of BTZ should not be seen as Bunz heading in a new corporate direction, even though the company has secured funding from institutional investors. “I actually see it as doubling down rather than diverging from the ethos Bunz represents,” he said.