Waterloo-based Kik Interactive Inc. is shutting down its signature chat app and laying off most of its staff in order to focus on a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company’s chief executive officer said in a blog post Monday.The U.S. regulator has sued the company, alleging that it conducted an unregulated sale of securities when it raised around US$100 million in 2017 through an initial coin offering for its nascent cryptocurrency, Kin.
However, Kik struggled to generate revenue with the app, which competed with larger rivals such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. In 2017, Livingston announced a plan to launch the Kin, and essentially use the Kik user base as the launchpad to spur widespread adoption of the digital currency. “So with the SEC working to characterize almost all cryptocurrencies as securities we made the decision to step forward and fight,” he said.