Popular NFT collection Friendsies tweeted Feb. 15 that it would pause its development, citing “challenging” market conditions as the primary reason for its hiatus.

“We had the best intentions to create a genuine digital companion for the future,” the company tweeted. “However, the market’s volatility and difficulties have made it increasingly challenging to advance this project in a manner that meets our standards.”

According to the Friendsies website, the initiative aimed to mint 10,000 whimsical avatars. It teamed up with auction house Christie’s in March 2022 to sell nine early-access mint passes to the collection on the secondary marketplace OpenSea, which allowed avid collectors to mint the rarest Friendsies.

Following the collection’s tweet, some users who inquired about the announcement found themselves blocked on Twitter. Shortly after, Friendsies deleted its account on the social media platform.