Kik Interactive Inc. has consented to a court judgment imposing a $5 million civil penalty by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following the conclusion of a case that started in 2019.
The case, which was held in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York centered around the SEC’s claim that Kik’s initial coin offering (ICO) was in fact the sale of an unregistered security.
On Sept 30, Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled in favor of the SEC, stating that Kik could be legally classified as a security, which would make its ICO an unregulated illegal sale under SEC regulations.
Kik CEO Ted Livingston immediately announced that the company would consider appealing the ruling, however, with this latest development all rights to appeal have been waived and the judgment has been made final.
