Kik Acquired by MediaLab, Kin Cryptocurrency Dream to Survive

The team at Kik announced that the messenger business has been acquired by MediaLab: a holding company for internet brands. MediaLab has forged themselves a name with apps like Whisper, DatPiff, and Manga Life. One main concern, regarding the fate of Kin, has been alleviated in light of MediaLab’s announcement that they are not scrapping the cryptocurrency.

New Beginnings

MediaLab has promised to work on building real integration for the Kin cryptocurrency despite regulatory concerns regarding the token sale and the nature of the token. Earlier this month, speculation that Kik is shutting down the app to focus on Kin and the SEC was doing the rounds. Selling the messaging arm will be a weight off their shoulders, but Ted Livingston and Kin still have the face the wrath of regulators.

Considering the Kin Foundation is now separated from the messaging business, it is highly unlikely that regulators will come after MediaLab, but Kin’s fiery rebuttals will have irked the SEC to take certain courses of action they may not usually consider.

Users of Kik may be disappointed to see that the app will now have advertisements on it. MediaLab justifies this move by claiming it needs to be able to cover their expenses; reasonable claims.

While there are plans for how Kik can take shape in the future, the new owners are quite clear that they want to hear the community out and see what they want before deciding on a particular path. Kik users interested in voicing their opinions and giving the company feedback can write to ‘[email protected]’.

SEC Won’t Falter

The move to halt Telegram is representative of the SEC’s vendetta. The regulator is trying to impose its authority over these businesses – especially ones that don’t consult or cooperate with them.

MediaLab has offered no details on their Kin integration, probably so that they don’t attract attention from American regulators.

According to a report by The Verge, Ted Livingston wants to convert “Kin users into Kin buyers”. These comments will not sit well with regulators. The company cut down its 100 person team to an “elite 19 person” squad. All in all, the future isn’t looking very bright for Kin.