Kik Responds to Court Ruling in Favor of SEC
Sep 30, 2020, 18:45 ET
Says It is Considering an Appeal
WATERLOO, ON, Sept. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Kik Interactive Inc. responded to the ruling by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in favor of the SEC's Motion for Summary Judgment, finding that Kik violated the U.S. Securities Act for failing to register its 2017 distribution of its Kin tokens.
Kik's CEO, Ted Livingston, said "We are obviously disappointed in this ruling. We are considering all of our options, including filing an appeal. To be clear, Kik has always supported the Commission's goal of protecting investors, and we take compliance seriously. In preparing for the sale of Kin, Kik retained sophisticated counsel (both in the United States and internationally) to analyze the law as we understood it, and we continue to believe that the public sale of Kin was that of a functional currency and not a sale of securities. While this is a setback for Kik, this decision does not impact the Kin Foundation, the Kin token and the growing ecosystem of developers making Kin the most used cryptocurrency by mainstream consumers."
Kik's General Counsel, Eileen Lyon, added "The ruling may raise more questions than it answers, since it applies only to our original token distribution. The SEC should engage in proper rulemaking, including the opportunity for public commentary, rather than force our industry to hunt for regulatory clues among the SEC's conflicting statements, Commissioner and staff speeches, no-action letters, closed-door meetings with the SEC, and nonprecedential settlements."
No relief was specified in the ruling, but the SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, civil penalties and disgorgement.
SOURCE Kik Interactive Inc.
