Federal district court approves the settlement between Kik and the SEC where Kik will pay a $5M fine to settle dispute over a 2017 token sale that raised ~$100M
Isabelle Kirkwood / BetaKit :
Context & Ripple Effects
The court's approval closes out a three-year fight that began when the SEC sued Kik for running an unregistered securities sale of its Kin token in 2017, after a private sale and planned ICO that together raised roughly $100M. Kik fought back with a 130-page filing accusing the SEC of manipulating facts, but this month a judge granted summary judgment against the company, and within weeks Kik agreed to the $5M fine.
The trend: The SEC is converting its 2017 ICO enforcement wins into a steady stream of negotiated settlements, closing out the first crypto enforcement era as it drafts exemption rules for what comes next.