Kik's Token Survives SEC Battle, No Barrier to Exchange Listings, Says Kin Foundation

The Kin Foundation says both itself and the Kin token have survived the recently resolved court battle with the U.S. SEC over a 2017 ICO.

By Daniel Palmer

Oct 23, 2020 at 1:02 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:22 a.m. UTC

Daniel Palmer

Doubts over the the future of the Kin token project from messaging app firm Kik appear to have been dispelled.

In a blog post Friday, the Kin Foundation, the non-profit set up to govern and promote the project, announced that both itself and the token have survived the recently resolved court battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a 2017 initial coin offering.
Now that Kik has agreed to a $5 million settlement with the SEC, the "cloud of uncertainty has dissipated," the foundation said.
"Beyond the monetary fine, Kik’s assets are still Kik’s property, including its remaining treasury, its Kin reserves and all of its intellectual capital, according to the post.
Kik is further able to carry on with "active development" of the open-source Kin SDK and the new Code wallet.
The foundation also said that as the SEC isn't considering Kin a security and the judge didn't find the token in violation of securities laws, Kin "should be free to trade on exchanges."
Going forward, with its reserves still "deep," the foundation said it plans to continue to grow the Kin ecosystem, bringing on board a new executive director next month.
Additionally, a planned token migration to the Solana blockchain will go ahead and is "on schedule," it said.
Aside from stumping up the $5 million penalty, Canada-based Kik must give the SEC 45 days' notice before any transactions of the token for the next three years.

Also read: Kik Must Pay SEC $5M, Judge Rules, Ending Yearlong Battle Over $100M ICO

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