The Kitchener, Ont.-based messaging app said the financial regulator cited comments from chief executive Ted Livingston and a company consultant to make it seem as though the firm was advertising its Kin token as an investment, but left out quotes which made clear that it is a currency meant for users to earn and spend. Kik made the claim in its 130-page response to the SEC’s lawsuit over the initial coin offering of Kin in September 2017. (Financial Times)

Talking point: The company has requested a May 2020 start date from the New York bench hearing the case—sooner than the regulator reportedly wants to begin—and demanded a jury trial. A verdict in Kik’s favour would overturn the SEC’s position that most tokens are securities, and issuers should register their offerings with the agency. Livingston has said the case is about cryptocurrencies more broadly, and not just Kin; when the SEC filed its lawsuit in June, he tweeted that a judicial ruling will provide “the clarity our industry so desperately needs.” In May, Kik launched Defend Crypto, a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for its court case, but it’s since turned over the US$1.88 million raised to the Blockchain Association, a lobby group, to pay for other cases that affect the sector. Previous cryptocurrency firms that the SEC has targeted for enforcement have chosen to settle, but Kik and its CEO have publicly sought a court battle and attempted to draw attention to the case.