Bitfinex drops Kimcoin token sale over ‘regulatory risks’

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The planned sale of Kimcoin tokens (K.im) on Bitfinex won’t be taking place, after all. The cryptocurrency exchange has called off plans to hold the sale, explaining that the increased regulatory attention given to the Bitcoin ecosystem is the primary reason for the cancellation. If regulators are a concern, there is room to be worried about what Kimcoin had in mind with its offering.

According to an announcement on the Bitfinex website, the timing of the sale may not be prudent. The exchange states, “Since we announced the debut of Kimcoin on the Bitfinex Token Sale platform, the regulatory environment has rapidly evolved. The risks associated with raising funds for the K.im token sale have become clear, and we must put our community’s best interest first and foremost.

“After careful evaluation, we regret to announce that Bitfinex Token Sales and the K.im team have mutually agreed not to hold the token sale at this time. K.im will defer any decision on whether to create tokens on, or undertake a token issue in relation to the K.im platform until it is fully functional.”

Regretfully we inform our community that the https://t.co/HM04y6rmef token sale has been postponed indefinitely. Both teams have decided the regulatory risks are simply too great for all stakeholders. Please see our announcement for more details https://t.co/3oRaeWLnQ6

— Bitfinex (@bitfinex) November 5, 2019

Kimcoin is the latest creation of Kim Dotcom, the controversial entrepreneur and political activist who made millions of dollars from his Megaupload file hosting website before it was seized by the U.S. Department of Justice. At the same time, Dotcom was charged with criminal copyright infringement, money laundering, wire fraud and racketeering, but hasn’t yet stood trial. He is living in New Zealand and has continuously appealed extradition orders that have kept him from being shipped off to the United States.

Bitfinex points out that the K.im platform, a crypto-based content monetization solution, will still be worked on and that some type of equity-based offer would most likely be put forward in the future to “qualifying investors.”

Bitfinex introduced its Bitfinex Token Sales solution this past September, adding that it would support “high-quality” project. The first was going to be the K.im solution, and response to the announcement wasn’t exactly positive. Many Twitter users spoke up voicing their concerns, leaving comments like, “Just look how previous token sales performed, [Bitfinex] doesn’t support the projects they list through token sales. Steer clear” and “When y’all gonna be tweeting from behind bars?”

Bitfinex and Tether have been embroiled in legal issues lately as they try to figure out how to deal with several lawsuits. They are still having to answer to allegations of wrongdoing brought by the New York Attorney General’s Office and also face private lawsuits from investors for creating the “largest bubble in history.” They have also now been targeted for allegedly having helped manipulate BTC’s price in 2017.