Canadian on the spot messaging firm, Kik, has hit again on the US regulator making an attempt to sue its ICO with a large public doc.


Kik Implies ICO Trial Was SEC Publicity Stunt

Following that information that the Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) was taking Kik to court docket in June, the corporate has now launched a response during which legal professionals dissect its allegations on a sentence-by-sentence foundation.

As Bitcoinist reported, the debacle centered on Kik’s 2017 preliminary coin providing (ICO), throughout which it bought one trillion KIN tokens in a bid to lift $100 million. 

The SEC believed the sale was unlawful within the US, as Kik didn’t have a license for promoting what it deemed to be a safety.

“…The Commission’s Complaint reflects a consistent effort to twist the facts by removing quotes from their context and misrepresenting the documents and testimony that the Commission gathered in its investigation,” Kik’s response reads. 

The result’s a Criticism that badly mischaracterizes the totality of the info and circumstances main as much as Kik’s sale of Kin in 2017.

Concluding their introductory statements, Kik’s legal professionals conspicuously didn’t mince their phrases.

“These tactics may have gotten the Commission a decent news cycle, but they will not withstand meaningful scrutiny at summary judgment or trial,” they wrote.

The Response Is Extraordinary

Kik’s state of affairs is broadly reflective of the myriad of teething issues ICO operators skilled within the US market, particularly through the phenomenon’s increase in 2017. 

An absence of clear regulation – which nonetheless persists at the moment – compounded difficulties, leading to a sweeping investigative effort by the SEC and the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) final yr. 

This case, in response to lawyer Katherine Wu, makes the end result of the trial by jury for Kik particularly vital. Wu has produced annotated guides for each the SEC’s indictment and Kik’s response, the latter working to over 130 pages. 

“…I am amazed that the response came out in the form of an answer + all affirmative defenses,” she summarized in a weblog submit accompanying the newest information. 

I actually thought that it may’ve been a movement to dismiss— as a result of selecting to go the reply route is essentially the most time consuming, discovery-heavy, and throughout burdensome path to go. However, as we all know, this really is one large litigation showdown.

The occasions come the identical week as a US choose threw out allegations of fraud on the a part of cryptocurrency trade Coinbase regarding buying and selling of one other token, Bitcoin Money, in December 2017. 

After a botched launch, Coinbase faces a lawsuit over market manipulation and insider buying and selling, however a court docket order launched Tuesday stated the plaintiffs had failed to offer enough proof of fraudulent exercise.

What do you consider Kik’s response to the SEC? Tell us within the feedback beneath!


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