Why We Ended the RecyclETH Phase Earlier Than Planned
When we launched RecyclETH, we had an ambitious goal:
Collect 1,000,000 Sepolia ETH before opening the marketplace.
To keep the journey engaging, we also introduced milestone rewards every 10,000 Sepolia ETH, giving contributors intermediate goals while working toward the final target.
It was an exciting vision. But as the data came in, it became clear that the best decision for the project wasn't necessarily the one we had originally planned.
Looking at the Numbers
Roughly two months after launch, the RecyclETH pool had reached 816 Sepolia ETH.
While we were incredibly grateful for every contributor, the growth rate told us something important:
Reaching one million Sepolia ETH would take far longer than initially anticipated.
At that point, we had two choices.
- Continue running the collection campaign for months—or even years—until the original target was reached.
- Recognize that the project had already achieved its purpose, reward the community that helped us get there, and move on to building the next phase.
We chose the second option.
Why Moving Forward Made More Sense
RecyclETH was never intended to be the end goal.
Rather than delaying the marketplace while chasing an increasingly distant milestone, we decided it would provide far more value to the community to launch it sooner.
Our mission has always been to build useful developer infrastructure—not to wait for arbitrary numbers.
Thank You to the Early Contributors
Early contributors took a chance on an idea that didn't yet have a marketplace behind it.
They supported the project through its earliest stage, helped validate the concept, and provided valuable feedback along the way.
We wanted to recognize that commitment.
Although the original campaign defined fixed rewards, we decided to go much further.
Every eligible contributor received 10× the originally promised reward.
This wasn't because we were obligated to do so.
It was our way of thanking the people whose consistency, effort, and belief in the project helped make the next phase possible.
Without them, there would be no marketplace.
Welcome to CompETH
With RecyclETH now complete, we're officially entering the second phase:
CompETH.
Instead of focusing on collecting testnet ETH, CompETH introduces the marketplace itself.
The marketplace allows developers to buy and sell Sepolia ETH through transparent pricing, with tiered buy and sell prices designed to reward participation while keeping the market sustainable.
This marks the transition from validating the concept to delivering the product.
Looking Ahead
Changing course isn't always easy.
Projects often feel pressure to stick to their original roadmap, even when reality suggests a better path.
We believe good builders should do the opposite.
They should listen to data, adapt when necessary, and prioritize delivering value over following a plan simply because it was written months earlier.
Ending RecyclETH early wasn't abandoning the vision.
It was the fastest path toward achieving it.
To everyone who contributed, tested, provided feedback, or simply followed our progress:
Thank you.
The first chapter is complete.
Now it's time to build the marketplace.