
What is Kin?
Kin is a cryptocurrency built inside the social media network, Kik. It's designed as an incentive for developers to build products and services on the network

Kin is a cryptocurrency built inside the social media network, Kik. It's designed as an incentive for developers to build products and services on the network
Long Reads
For some developers, monetization can feel like a zero-sum game; either sacrifice their apps’ user experience and hope that user trust isn’t the next thing to go—or hand over a hefty chunk of their hard-earned revenue to one of the big app stores. The recent Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit has thrown a light on the dilemma faced by developers; in a recent interview with CNBC Squawk Box, Discord CEO Jason Citron pointed out that Apple's 30% commission on App Store downloads "makes it challenging for...
Technology
When Sam Dowd, the creator of productivity app Pause For, first started thinking about weaving crypto into his app’s user experience, the task seemed daunting. “The responsibility of dealing with real money and having to keep private keys safe for thousands of users turned me off at first,” Dowd said. “The whole thing felt a little scary.” It’s a common refrain heard among the developers of mainstream consumer apps. They want to join the emerging Web 3 ecosystem, but they either don’t have the t...
Long Reads
If personal data is the new oil, then big tech firms have been extracting it by the barrelful. That’s a bad deal for consumers (who have little choice but to consent to the surveillance economy in order to use most leading products and services) as well as app developers and content creators, who are stymied in their efforts to monetize. Web 3 promises to fix this, by establishing an open, decentralized economy built upon cryptocurrency, with every participant able to take advantage of the oppor...
Business
A New York court has ratified the proposed settlement between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and software development company Kik Interactive over the latter’s $98 million initial coin offering (ICO) for its crypto network Kin. While Kik will have to pay the SEC a civil penalty of $5 million, the remaining Kin tokens, as well as the Kin Foundation itself, are now out of the legal woods, the company stated yesterday. A New Chapter Begins in the Life of Kin and the Kin Foundation...
Business
The US Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed to a New York court that messaging app company Kik should pay a $5 million fine for illegally holding a $98 million initial coin offering (ICO) for its crypto network, Kin. US District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein sided with the SEC in its lawsuit against the Canada-based company at the end of September. Now, the SEC seeks to impose a penalty. The proposed settlement, which is yet to be ratified by the judge, would require Kik to wire th...
Business
A US court yesterday agreed with the SEC that Kik Interactive offered and sold securities in the US—its token Kik—without being authorized to do so. It had been a long wait for Kik followers since oral arguments ended in court on July 9. Kik fans have had to hold out for 83 days, hoping for a favourable decision. But for one lawyer, the result was never going to go any other way. “It was just a matter of time. In my view, there are three key points in the decision,” Marc Boiron, blockchain and...
Technology
US District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein today granted the US Securities and Exchange Commission its motion for summary judgement against Kik Interactive, which the SEC alleged offered Kin digital tokens in violation of the federal Securities Act. The ruling comes more than six months after both sides filed motions for summary judgment, seeking to bring the court case to an end without trial. Now, the historic civil case is one step closer to its inevitable conclusion: penalties. Kik is a Canad...
Business
When Telegram’s ambitious $1.7 billion crypto project collapsed in May, people pronounced the death of the “SAFT.” Called a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens, the SAFT was a type of ICO designed to raise startup funds through the sale of blockchain-based tokens while staying within US securities laws. It was a smart idea: sell investors the right to future tokens, so that when the network eventually launched and the tokens distributed, the tokens would no longer be securities. Then, the SEC too...
Business
Update: Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, said, "The Blockchain Association was proud to file its amicus brief in this matter, and we appreciate the opportunity to speak for the entire industry in supporting sensible regulation. The SEC’s description of our brief was wrong, and we are pleased the court granted our motion to participate as a friend of the court." "The court system benefits from amicus briefs like ours that place the parties’ evidence and arguments i...
Business
On Friday, the SEC argued in a filing to a New York court that the messenger app, Kik, illegally raised $100 million in its 2017 token sale for its cryptocurrency, Kin. Kik, in its own filing, refuted this. Each party’s filing responds to arguments made by the other party in separate filings last month. Should the court consider the case closed, it will issue a ruling on May 8, pending appeals by the losing party. Otherwise, the case may progress to a trial. But the consequences of the case, wh...
The Coins
Kin, the cryptocurrency launched by the popular messaging platform, Kik, has been making headlines recently because of Kik’s troubles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In this feature, we will give you the rundown on this troubled cryptocurrency and why Kik’s legal case has implications for the entire crypto industry. The purpose of Kin is to provide a digital currency for the Kik community. Developers who make apps, games, and stickers on Kik are rewarded in Kin directly...