Messaging app Kik is launching its own cryptocurrency to raise $125 million

Kik, the $1 billion Canadian messaging app operator, is planning to raise $125 million through an initial coin offering on September 12.

Kik, which was founded by a group of college students in 2009, is actively used by 15 million people per month and reaches 40% of American teenagers, according to the company.

ICOs, a red-hot way to raise money using the technology behind bitcoin, have exploded this year with over $1.8 billion raised year-to-date, according to data from financial technology analytics provider Autonomous NEXT. They've allowed some companies to circumvent traditional fundraising methods, such as from venture capital and via the capital markets, to raise millions of dollars in a matter of seconds.

The massive growth of the ICO market is viewed by many people in financial services as a bubble, with some firms using the method as a way to raise vasts amount of money without offering an actual product. To raise money through an ICO, a company issues a new digital currency that can either be spent within its ecosystem, a bit like Disneyland dollars, or used to power part of the business.

Full story at http://read.bi/2wJQM3s

Source: Business Insider Nordic

 

 

 

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