Kin, an Israeli cryptocurrency subsidiary of Waterloo, Ontario-based Mobile messaging app Kik Interactive Inc., has leased space at Labs, a Tel Aviv shared office space operating under the Teddy Sagi Group.

Until now, Kin's offices were located nearby, in the Sarona complex. The company stated the relocation is a result of its plan to recruit 30 additional employees for its Tel Aviv research and development center. The company also has 25 employees in New York and San Francisco.

Kik Israel President Dany Fishel. Photo: Kik Israel

Kin is based on Tel Aviv-based communications company Rounds Entertainment Ltd., which Kik acquired in January 2017 and turned into its digital currency operations. In September 2017, Kik raised $98 million in an initial coin offering of a token called Kin, with the aim of creating a decentralized digital services ecosystem based on the coin. The coin has since lost the majority of its value.

Kin will pay NIS 4 million for a two-year lease of 400 square meters on the 60th floor of the Israeli Sarona Tower in central Tel Aviv, Israel's tallest high rise, according to one person familiar with the matter who spoke with Calcalist on condition of anonymity. Labs occupies the top five floors of the tower, for a total space of 12,000 square meters.