Kik Announces It’s ‘Here to Stay’ in Apparent Reversal of Fortunes

Published at: Oct. 14, 2019

Canadian social media and messaging app Kik has revealed it’s “here to stay,” in an apparent reversal of earlier plans to shut down amid legal difficulties.

In an official tweet posted on Oct. 13, the company announced:

“Great news: Kik is here to stay!!!!AND there’s some really exciting plans for making the app even better. More details coming soon. Stay tuned.”

“More soon” and “stay tuned”

As previously reported, Kik had been embroiled in a costly legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its initial coin offering’s designation, with the regulator suing the company for having conducted an allegedly unregistered $100 million token offering.

Having pared down its workforce from 151 to just 19 and mulled a complete shutdown — according to a blog post from CEO Ted Livingston late last month —  the company closed the Kik X beta platform on Sept. 27. 

Yet the first hint of a turn in fortunes emerged on Oct. 7, when Livingston tweeted:

“Some exciting news: we may have found a home for Kik! We just signed an LOI [letter of intention] with a great company. They want to buy the app, continue growing it for our millions of users, and take the Kin integration to the next level. Not a done deal yet, but could be a great win win. More soon” 

Down to the bone 

With further details of the game-changing deal still to be announced, Kik’s apparent decision to close had meanwhile been harshly criticized among community members. The Kin cryptocurrency has also seen a steady decline — no doubt in part due to broader market conditions, yet unlikely helped by the company’s seemingly intractable difficulties.

Kin token 3-month chart, as of Oct. 14, 2019. Source: Coin360

As reported, at the peak of the firm’s stand-off with the SEC, Livingston had pledged to fight the SEC until we don’t have a dollar left.”

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