SEC Files Lawsuit Against ICO Issuer Amid Allegations that it Conducted Unregistered Securities Offering

Published On July 1, 2019
1 MINUTE READ

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pursuing legal action against Canada-based ICO issuer, Kik Interactive Inc, for allegations that it conducted an initial coin offering of one trillion Kin digital tokens without registering the crypto assets with the SEC, as required by law. 

It is estimated that Kik has raised almost $100m, including $55m from US investors, through its ICO as a pre-offering to investment funds. The SEC seeks to prohibit Kik from violating US securities law registration requirements, and to disgorge the funds made through the ICO. 

In response to the SEC, Kik has claimed that Kin was a virtual currency and not subject to US securities laws. It added:

“We have been expecting this for quite some time, and we welcome the opportunity to fight for the future of crypto in the United States. We hope this case will make it clear that the securities laws should not be applied to a currency used by millions of people in dozens of apps.”