Highlights
- Kik, the famous messaging application, is shutting down its chat app
- The decision was taken, following an 18-month long battle with the SEC
- The dispute was about the issuing of Kin, a cryptocurrency in development by Kik
Launched in 2010, Kik pulled in a range of users, from teens to young adults, with the promise ofbeing able to chat anonymously and freely. Something the new generation seems to embrace. But now, the company has announced the closure of its messaging app, due to shortage of funds.
Calling it Quits
Kik’s messaging app had hundreds of millions of registered users and the company earned a private market valuation of $1 billion, counting itself as one of the few tech messaging unicorns. The messaging app grew wit tough competition from large providers such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram and Line, but the anonymity feature became a double-edged sword.
The company will focus its remaining resources entirely on growing its cryptocurrency, Kin, the subject of a recent lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of the core issues in the lawsuit is whether or not Kin is a security. The SEC alleges that it is and that the token sale violated securities laws, while the Kik team denies Kin is a security.
“We can confirm that the Kik Messenger app will be shutting down. Details on timing and the user experience through that process will be shared in the coming days”, said a company spokesman who felt dejected to announce the news.
To get more people who buy Kin to use the currency, the company will focus on three things: enabling the Kin blockchain to support a billion consumers making a dozen transactions a day, with confirmation times of less than a second; increasing adoption and growth for developers who use Kin in their apps; and building a mobile wallet that makes it easier to buy and use Kin.