Altcoin News: Kik Accuses SEC of Rigging Facts to Organize Prosecution of $100 Million ICO Project

August 7, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

Kik Interactive filed a 130-page document with the Southern District of New York District Court in response to a lawsuit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC accuses the developer of the Kik messenger of organizing the illegal sale of tokens for $100 million, but the company claims that the regulator rigs the facts and asks to dismiss the case.

According to the Kik version, Kin is just a token built into the application for buying games, digital products and other services. The SEC claims that the Kin security token was issued by a financially deprived company as a tool to raise funds to solve its current problems and enrich its management.

Kik chief lawyer Eileen Lyon in a press statement said: “Since Kin, a currency, is not itself a security, the SEC must show that it was sold in a way that violates the securities laws. The SEC had access to over 50,000 documents and took testimony from nearly 20 witnesses prior to filing its Complaint, yet is unable to make the case that Kik’s token sale violated the securities laws without bending the facts to distort the record.”

In addition, representatives of Kik argue that assumptions about the financial turmoil that befell the company was included in the lawsuit “for the sole purpose of creating a biased opinion and exposing Kik in a negative light.” They made the decision to monetize the messenger using cryptocurrency after they studied the most relevant methods of competition with larger technology companies, the statement said.

“Importantly for developers, it is clear from the SEC’s lack of action against the Kin Foundation that the transactions currently taking place within the Kin Ecosystem do not fall under the federal securities laws. We’ve asked for an early trial date and dismissal of the Complaint, so that we can put this case behind us and get the needed regulatory clarity the industry needs,” the company adds. Kik CEO Ted Livingston also commented: “The SEC tries to paint a picture that the Kin project was an act of desperation rather than the bold move that it was to win the game, and one that KaKao, Line, Telegram, and Facebook have all now followed.”

Author: Marko Vidrih