SEC and Kik Reach Settlement; Kik to Pay $5 Million

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Kik, the messaging-app developer, have reached a settlement over the 2017 token sale. If approved by the court, the Canadian company will pay a $5 million penalty.

The agreement also requires Kik to report to the regulator any transactions involving Kin reserves held in custody over the next three years.

gov.uscourts.nysd.516941.89.2 by ForkLog on Scribd

In 2017, the company raised $98 million in an ICO to develop Kin and an ecosystem built around it. In 2019, the U.S. regulator charged Kik with an unregistered sale of securities.

In October 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Kik’s token sale violated the Securities Act.

Earlier, Kik’s chief executive Ted Livingston vowed to fight the SEC “to the last dollar,” even if that would lead to bankruptcy. This was followed by a decision to shut down the messenger and cut staff to conserve resources for continuing the legal battle with the regulator.

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