“Kik rolled out the home-built cryptocurrency Kin last year on the Ethereum blockchain. The Kin foundation it set up to oversee the development of Kin crypto recently announced that it’s building its own blockchain that’s a hybrid of Ethereum and Stellar. Users could purchase the cryptocurrency on exchanges and use it to buy “stickers” or emoji-like symbols they would use while communicating with contacts on the platform. Six months ago, Kik let brands offer users cryptocurrency if they answered a survey or performed other minor tasks. The idea is to get Kik users to do these activities to gain crypto that they can turn around spend elsewhere online through Kik’s partners like gifting platform Blackhawk — which effectively opens up redemption opportunities at hundreds of retailers, including Target, iTunes and Home Depot.”