Kik's implementation of cryptocurrency is relatively unusual because most apps use local currencies for payments.

Messaging app Kik announced Thursday it will use cryptocurrency tokens as the primary transaction currency on the platform — an unusual effort to compete against its behemoth rival, Facebook Messenger. The announcement comes as bitcoin and other so-called decentralized currencies are riding a fresh wave of interest. Bitcoin prices hit a record level of $2,500 on Wednesday — a 150 percent surge this year. The new program means that Kik can now use an internationalized currency for many transactions. Using messaging apps for activities like listening to music, ordering food or making payments is already popular in Asia, where WeChat is a dominant app for sending messages on mobile phones. That's something platforms like Facebook are hungry to replicate.

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

"This is something we've been experimenting with since 2014," Kik's founder and CEO, Ted Livingston, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Thursday.



"There are a bunch of ways to earn it: You could watch ads, you could host a great group chat, create a great sticker, build a great bot . So there's all these different ways as a consumer you could come in and earn value and then spend value. And how that makes money for Kik is, we create a new cryptocurrency for Kik such that there's only going to be so much of it. And we set some of that aside for us. So that if more and more people transact in this cryptocurrency, the value of it grows." Creating a WeChat-like ecosystem could be a lucrative, even existential, opportunity for other messaging companies like Line and Apple, technology analyst Ben Thompson wrote earlier this month. Many messaging apps, like Facebook Messenger and Snapchat, offer peer-to-peer payments and transactions with businesses. The company behind WeChat, Tencent, invested $50 million in Kik with that goal in mind. Still, Kik's implementation of cryptocurrency is relatively unusual because most apps use local currencies for payments. Despite bitcoin's association with crimes committed on the so-called Silk Road, technology trend watchers like venture capitalist Fred Wilson, who invested in Kik, have high hopes for cryptocurrencies.