Kik has recently announced their plan to enter the world of digital currency with the launching of their own brand of cryptocurrency, which will be called “Kin”. For some, it begs the question as to why they need a component of this sort, but their overall plan is actually quite easy to figure out. They are making an attempt to have their own version of messaging apps known throughout China. Since China’s messengers have built in services for payment, it has opened up a completely new world for them, and Kik is simply reaching for the same kind of success. This is a move you can expect many more Western apps to make, going forward.
Kik Messenger cannot be accused of not moving forward. The past several years have seen them try different options with many aspects of their messaging service, including chat bots, video chat and group chat as well. Using their analysis of the growth of messaging apps, their next reasonable step was to get on board with virtual payment options.
The most well-known digital currency, Bitcoin, saw a record wave of 150% this year, leveling off at an amazing $2500 as recently as last week. Kik’s internationalization of their own cryptocurrency will give them better leverage to run alongside their biggest competitors.
One of Kik’s main investors is the Chinese corporation, Tencent. This relationship has allowed Kik to closely monitor how messaging apps have faired in the markets in the East.
Check out Ted’s announcement of Kin at Token Summit here: https://www.downloadmessenger.org/download-kiks-cryptocurrency-kin?xurl=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FyOs1lpGfO5
— Kin Foundation (@kin_foundation) June 5, 2017
Now, they seek to take those lessons and implement them into their own products, knowing that a great deal of the success of messaging apps is that they do far more than simply send messaged. Transforming them into full platforms themselves seems to be the ongoing trend. It is a trend that seems to be paying off for those who have tried it, and others want that same success.
In Asia, where WeChat is the biggest mobile messaging app, users regularly utilize their messengers for music listening, food orders and making other types of payments. This ease of use is something that all messengers are getting in line to replicate, not the least of which is Kik.
Kin will be based on a technology that is different from others being used at the moment, and is called ehtereum blockchain. Data from Google Trends shows that, in the last twelve months, Canada is one of the countries most interested in this type of technology.
