Kin is a cryptocurrency token issued on the public Ethereum blockchain. Kin was first announced in early 2017 by Kik, which is a freeware instant messaging mobile app.
Kin was launched in September 2017 with an initial coin offering (ICO) raising $98 million from 10,000 participants. The purpose of the token is to facilitate value transfers in digital services such as gaming applications and social media.
On June 4, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Kik Interactive Inc. for conducting an illegal $100 million securities offering of digital tokens. The SEC charges that Kik sold the tokens to U.S. investors without registering their offer and sale as required by the U.S. securities laws.
By 2019 the value of Kin had fallen by 99%.