Kin
Candlefocus EditorCryptocurrency has been steadily gaining in traction over the past few years, with a wide range of projects launching crypto tokens of their own. However, one of the most unique of these is Kin, the cryptocurrency created by the popular messaging service, Kik. Launched via an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, the Kin ICO amassed roughly $100 million. As a result, it has made Kik one of the most successful ICOs to date, and has inspired other app developers to explore the potential of their own ICOs.
The Kin cryptocurrency was designed as a blockchain-based rewards program, wherein users could earn Kin by engaging and participating with other users on the Kik platform. Rewards are generated by various activities, including consuming content, making purchases, playing games and viewing advertisements. This allows Kik to provide value back to its valuable user base by incentivizing them to engage with the app, which is beneficial to Kik's long-term growth.
Kik had a key advantage when launching its ICO over certain cryptocurrency competitors: it already had millions of active users. This large, dedicated user base gives the cryptocurrency more potential utility from the very beginning, increasing its chances of success. Further, Kin was built as a utility token rather than a security token, making it immune to the arbitrary regulations that can come about as a result of being labeled a security. This allows Kin to easily evade the complexity associated with raising money through traditional methods.
Another feature that makes Kin attractive is that it is compatible with existing messaging services like Kik - users never have to leave the app. This increases the accessibility of the cryptocurrency since users are not required to learn a completely new system,which may hinder adoption and usage.
A similar concept was used by Kik's competitor, Telegram, when it launched its own cryptocurrency, the gram. However, unlike Kik's Kin token, Telegram's gram has yet to be released onto the market and comes with some notable teething problems.
When Kin does begin trading in the open market, investors should be aware that it is still very much in its infancy stages. As with any cryptocurrency, volatility should be expected, as the market is still maturing.
Overall, Kin remains an ambitious project and if successful, could revolutionize the way app developers monetize their projects. With Kik's millions of users and the flexibility of their ICO structure, Kin could potentially become one of the most successful cryptocurrencies of all time. All that remains to be seen is just how the cryptocurrency develops in the coming months and years.