Bunz

Bunz is a Toronto barter and trading community that started as a Facebook group and grew into a mobile app where people swap goods without cash. Under CEO Sascha Mojtahedi it launched BTZ, its own digital currency, in 2018. The crypto pivot faltered in 2019, and the app later changed owners and largely wound down.

MarketplaceTorontoFounded 2016
~$1Mspent in BTZ at local shops over the prior 10 monthsTechTO stage 2019-02-15
250+shops accepting the BTZ currencyTechTO stage 2019-02-15
2.9M+transactions in BTZ currency (excluding peer-to-peer)TechTO stage 2019-02-15

The people

What they build

Bunz appBarter and trading marketplace for swapping goods without cashProduct page ↗
BTZ ('bits')Bunz's own digital currency, launched 2018, earned in-app and redeemable at local shops

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Working at Bunz

Browse open roles across the community on the TechTO Job Board — Canada’s most connected tech network. Bunz’s roles show up here whenever they post.

Open roles on the TechTO Job Board ↗

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On the TechTO stage

Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Bunz

About

Bunz began as the Bunz Trading Zone, a Facebook group started by Emily Bitze around 2013 for Torontonians to barter goods without money. The mobile app launched around 2016. In 2018, under CEO Sascha Mojtahedi, Bunz introduced BTZ ('bits'), a digital currency users earned and spent at local shops. On the TechTO stage in February 2019 he said users had spent about $1M in BTZ over the prior 10 months across 2.9M+ in-currency transactions at 250+ shops. Later in 2019 the crypto pivot unraveled: layoffs hit, the BTZ program was cut back, and part of the community rebranded to Palz. The app subsequently changed ownership and, as of 2026, operates at reduced scale.

Backers

Not publicly confirmed here. Per the founder on the TechTO stage (Feb 2019), the BTZ currency reserve was backed by Bunz's own cash held in a bank account.

Some figures are founder-stated, not independently confirmed

Quick answers

What is Bunz?

A Toronto barter and trading community, started as a Facebook group by Emily Bitze and later a mobile app, where people swap goods without cash.

Who founded Bunz?

Emily Bitze started the Bunz Trading Zone Facebook group. Sascha Mojtahedi later joined as CEO and launched its BTZ digital currency.

What was BTZ?

BTZ ('bits') was Bunz's own digital currency, launched in 2018 — earned in the app and spent at 250+ local shops, before the program was scaled back in 2019.

What happened to Bunz?

The 2018 cryptocurrency pivot faltered in 2019 with layoffs and BTZ cutbacks; part of the community rebranded to Palz. The app later changed ownership and operates at reduced scale.

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Maintained by TechTO · facts sourced and dated · last reviewed Jul 17, 2026