Social messaging app Kik has just announced that the company is planning to make use of two different blockchains in order to power its “kin” tokens. Last year in September, the company managed to raise $98 million through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) by launching the kin tokens on the Ethereum platform. Later in December, it that the company is looking ways to switch from Ethereum to Stellar network sighting issues of speed, reliability and costs.
Now, the Kin Ecosystem Foundation which is a nonprofit and independent governance body for Kin said that it will be using the Stellar blockchain platform to improve Kin’s accessibility and functionality for digital services. The Ethereum blockchain platform, on which the tokens were initially launched will be used for liquidity white Stellar will be used for transaction purpose.
Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik, the popular chat app and the first member of the Kin Ecosystem, said: “The goal of Kin is to create digital sharing economy where everyone is fairly compensated for the unique value they contribute. While Ethereum provides immediate liquidity for Kin holders, it’s not ready for mainstream consumer usage.”
The implementation of Stellar within Kin’s infrastructure will take place in two phases. In the first phase, Stellar-based kin tokens will be created separately as different assets from the original ERC-20 tokens. The newly created tokens can be used by users and also spend them on other digital services within the Kin Ecosystem. These tokens will then merge with their ERC-20 counterpart thereby creating a unified currency over two networks.
As the kin tokens will be used on both the blockchains, the company will be using atomic swaps, which is a new technology currently under development that facilitates cross-blockchain transactions. This is like considering the kin token to be split in two parts where the company will be locking the token’s Stellar half as soon as its ERC-20 half leaves the app, and vice versa. Livingston said: “Creating a bi-directional blockchain with Stellar will drive mass adoption of Kin by providing faster confirmation times, low transaction fees, and scalability that digital services in the ecosystem require.”
Jed McCaleb, co-founder of the Stellar Development Foundation supported Livingston’s comments by saying, “There are several barriers to entry that prevent the average consumer from using cryptocurrency in their digital lives. Kin simplifies blockchain for mainstream consumers and digital service providers, and we’re excited to work together to drive mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency through scalable, fast and low-cost transactions on Stellar.”
Currently. Kik users can ear and spend kin tokens with the latter facility available only to buy sticker packs of digital art that people can use in their chats. However, Kik aims to provide more digital services and has assured that much more physical content will be made available to users on its platform. The digital service could include games, private chats of collectibles like Cryptokitties.
While on the physical part, manufactures of physical goods will be integrated on its platform who will be accepting payments in kin tokens.
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Cryptocurrency foundations, community organizations, and entrepreneurs have helped put the lightly populated Swiss canton of Zug on the business world’s map. While the local administration has created one of the most welcoming environments for the industry, some voices fear possible negative repercussions such as bad press and an American regulatory backlash.
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Lamborghini Robin Hoods
A new report from Zug, Switzerland by the Financial Times showcases that despite the success ‘’ has had in attracting businesses, there are still those that fear it might bring unwanted attention as well. A Swiss finance specialist commented: “I’m just waiting for Washington to call Bern and ask ‘what are you doing down there in Zug?’.” Another local insider said: “They say they are different to banks, that they are Robin Hoods — but we have Robin Hoods driving around in Lamborghinis.”
Besides flashy displays of wealth, critics also echo other familiar complaints. “My big worry is that the whole intransparency will lower Zug’s standing worldwide,” said Andreas Hürlimann, a local Green party councillor. “You don’t know from where to where the money is flowing, whether it is drug money for instance.” He also added that the council accepting bitcoin payments was “clearly a marketing gag”.
For their part, the entrepreneurs appear to be pleased with the region’s politicians and regulations. The only issue they raised in the was reluctant cooperation by the local banks, something that they can bypass by turning to other places such as .
Black Sheep
The main concern that rises from the report is that some ICO could mess up in a way that will bring foreign pressure to harshen the local legal framework for all others. “Switzerland remains under pressure to follow a ‘clean money’ strategy. It was hard work to get Switzerland off the blacklists — and there is of course no appetite for it to be back on them,” explained Jan Seffinga, blockchain expert at Deloitte.
“These ICOs require blind trust in the founders. You can’t do much if the raised funds are misappropriated,” commented Luzius Meisser, founder of the bitcoin Association Switzerland. Heinz Tännler, Zug canton’s finance director, said: “The risk is when you have ‘black sheep’. We have our eyes open. But there is never an opportunity without risks.”
Still others seem to be overwhelmed by the fast development of ‘Crypto Valley’. Dolfi Müller, Zug town council president, said: “We play the background music . . . We don’t have great plans — we don’t want to be a ‘smart city’ like Dubai. It’s step by step. It’s Asterix against Rome.”
Should the people of Zug be grateful for ICOs bringing business to their community or cautious? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
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News Release: Lithuania-based blockchain payment gateway CoinGate has actually joined pressures with open-source, ecommerce system PrestaShop. The cooperation with reach over 80,000 EU-based merchants. 21 March 2018, Vilnius, Lithuania – – CoinGate, a prominent repayment gateway for blockchain settlements in the European market, and PrestaShop, among the largest open-source ecommerce platforms internationally, revealed a participation to […]
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Released at Wed, 21 Mar 2018 08:53:34 +0000
