This is going to be a long one, so bear with me. TLDR: Roo Troop will be sunsetting, with plans to fully shut down on October 1st, 2025. Four years ago we set out to build something different for the community. Something that would matter and leave a mark in the middle of all the scams and vaporware that were flooding the space. This is not the post I wanted to write but I am proud of what we built together and grateful for the people who backed us the whole way. We started building the Roo Troop community in September of 2021, and later minted the collection of 5,500 NFTs in January of 2022. We gave out 1/5th of the supply for free to supporters, and sold the rest for a fraction of the normal price at the time. Through the project, we: - Gave away more than $50k in crypto - Distributed over $30k in NFTs through the $ROOLAH shop - Provided $20k+ in educational opportunities to holders - Created and ran free educational resources and sessions for months - Launched a dozen Web3 tools, most free, with some widely adopted in the space - Brought in countless partnerships and perks for holders - Minted a free companion collection for holders - Co-hosted a sold out club event at NFT NYC with A-list DJs, free for holders - Spoke at multiple conferences around the world - Used our platform to call out scams and bad actors I’m really proud of the value we provided to the community, but to be honest, I’m even more proud of how we, as a community, were able to impact the planet and species we built this project to represent: Together, we: - Bought a plot of land in the Daintree Rainforest to help preserve the Tree Kangaroo (and countless other species!) habitat - Donated nearly 6 figures to Tree Kangaroo preservation - Educated tens, if not hundreds of thousands on Tree Kangaroos and their endangered status These are things we can all carry with pride forever. Despite all we accomplished, our path to long-term sustainability didn’t work out as planned. Minting at a fraction of the market rate in 2022, covering heavy costs, and giving a lot meant we didn’t set ourselves up with the best financial runway. We worked hard to pivot, but in the end, the revenue side never matched the ambition. In hindsight, I would make different decisions, but I can’t change that now. All I can do is say I am grateful for the opportunity to build this with you and I am sorry it did not turn out how we hoped. To my co-founders, our team, community moderators, and managers…thank you for believing in the mission and adapting with me along the way. To the community: the OGs from the mystery animal days, the minters, the whales who bought dozens or even hundreds of assets…thank you for riding with us. Some of you never sold a single Roo even when floors 8x’d. My own family and friends put thousands into the project. That is not something I take lightly and I carry that weight. I hope one day I can make it right for you. October 1st, 2025 will be the official close where we make the Twitter and Discord accounts private. Between now and then we will keep everything open so people can connect, wrap things up, and say goodbye properly. Thank you for making Roo Troop what it was. You’ve been the best damn NFT community I’ve been part of. We built something real, we made a difference, and we did it together. Rooty Roo forever 🌳🦘