According to a statement issued by exchange, the decision was taken as a result of the regulatory environment rapidly evolving since the sale was first announced in late September. “The risks associated with raising funds for the K.im token sale have become clearer, and we must put our community’s best interest first and foremost,” the statement reads. “After careful evaluation, we regret to announce that Bitfinex Token Sales and the K.im team have mutually agreed not to hold the token sale at this time,” it adds, “K.im will defer any decision on whether to create tokens on, or undertake a token issue in relation to the K.im platform until it is fully functional.” K.im’s platform project is set to continue and it’s likely that an equity-based offer will be made sometime in the near future, the statement adds. A few months ago, Hard Fork reported on how Kim Dotcom was looking to sell tokens to build a blockchain-powered content network, K.IM, pitched as a “secure and dynamic ecosystem” where consumers and publishers of digital content could easily transact and bypass middlemen. It’s also expected that Kim users would be able to pay with Bitcoin once the platform goes live. However, this is likely to be a more cumbersome process due to the network’s confirmation times. At the time, Bitfinex said it would facilitate the raise via its new token issuance platform, Bitfinex Token Sales, formerly known as Tokinex. But, alas, the token sale is no more.
The controversy
By way of context, Dotcom has been embroiled in a legal battle with the US over cloud storage service Megaupload, which he founded and stopped operating in 2012. Authorities have fought to extradite him from his chosen homeland, New Zealand, where he’s lived since 2012. They claim Dotcom made millions of dollars by enabling illegal file-sharing to run rife on the cloud storage service. That’s if it can get the funding to get off the ground, which seems difficult, considering this latest news.
