Embattled Kik vows to continue SEC fight ‘no matter how hard it is’

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Canadian messaging app Kik intends to fight to the death for its Kin cryptocurrency, after a US regulator branded its issue as a “security offering,” Global News reported.

Founder and CEO Ted Livingston told delegates at the Elevate conference this week that Kik was prepared to do whatever it takes in its battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), over what it alleges are unfounded allegations regarding the launch of its cryptocurrency.

Suggesting the firm would go as far as the point of bankruptcy in its battle with the regulator, Livingston was resolute in his determination.

We have to keep going. Until that’s it, we don’t have a dollar left, a person left. We will keep going no matter how hard it is.

The comments come a matter of days after Kik Interactive said it was closing down its app service to focus exclusively on its Kin cryptocurrency, which was originally launched back in 2017.

The launch caught the attention of the U.S. securities regulator, which suggested the initial offer amounted to a security offering. Without prior authorization of the SEC, this would put Kik at odds with security law.

The company refutes this claim, arguing that its $100 million issue was for a crypto asset, not a security. According to Livingston, the dispute is existential for Kin, with designation as a security likely to make the cryptocurrency unviable.

This would effectively leave Kik without a means of generating revenue, which Livingston said has been a significant factor in driving its combative approach: “Those are the two options it came down to, so when we looked at that, we said, ‘We feel very confident that we are correct. We need to fight.’”

According to Livingston, the law suit brought against Kik by the SEC has had an impact on the number of users of the cryptocurrency, though he noted it was still supported across more than 60 different apps.

While he noted the regulator had been stalling, he said the firm were hopeful of a court hearing by May.

On cryptocurrency, Livingston said Kik would champion the technology, saying the firm was committed to helping build the world’s new money through crypto assets. He noted, “Cryptocurrencies are the only way, the only tool we have now that we can counteract that, where we can build a new economy with a new form of money where we can rewrite the rules for how wealth and value is created in a global society.”