The idea behind Kin is to give users the chance to earn and spend within the Kik platform. This means brands can reward users with small amounts of Kin for completing simple tasks such as answering questions in a survey or creating themed content such as stickers or GIFs.

Alec Booker, Kik B2B communications manager, explains that as a consumer-tech company, the received wisdom says you have to monetise your user base through adverts, but this does not work for everyone.

“This ‘centralised’ business model put advertisers directly in conflict with users on our platform – advertisers want you to view ads to make money; users don’t want to see ads,” explains Booker.

This was the reason the messaging platform first started experimenting with digital currency in 2014, launching the Kik Points pilot programme to test user appetite to earn and spend using a crypto-coin. The resulting points programme generated a daily transaction volume three times the size of the then global volume of Bitcoin, suggesting the community was ready to adopt a crypto-coin.

Kik went live with its ICO last September, raising nearly $100m (£72m) from more than 10,000 people across 117 countries.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.marketingweek.com