Messaging app firm Kik Interactive Inc. announced today that it’s crowdsourcing donations to help it fight a likely legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its 2017 initial coin offering.

Kik raised $98 million in the ICO, including $50 million in presales for Kin, an Ethereum blockchain-based cryptocurrency that was pitched both as allowing the company to expand Kik’s features and supporting developers with an open app ecosystem. The problem arose with an SEC investigation finding that the Kin tokens should have been registered as securities, a contention Kik disagrees with.

The SEC first ruled in 2017 that ICOs are subject to securities laws, further clarifying when ICOs should be registered as an offering of securities in June. The differentiating factor is whether a coin or token issued in an ICO is tied to an actual company or operates strictly as a currency. The former requires registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, while the latter does not.

Kik argues, despite the ICO being linked by the company at launch to assisting it in building out its messaging app, that Kin was strictly a currency and hence does not require registration.

Discussing the crowdsourcing campaign on the Unchained Podcast today, Kik Chief Executive Officer Ted Livingston claimed that Kin was “the most-used cryptocurrency in the world,” and that more than 250,000 people had used it, making it a currency and not a security.

The crowdsourcing, through a website called DefendCrypto.org, is being pitched as not specific to Kik and Kin but for cryptocurrencies and ICOs alike. “For the future of crypto, we all need Kin to win,” the website states. “This case will set a precedent and could serve as the new Howey Test for how cryptocurrencies are regulated in the United States.”

The Howey Test was created by the U.S. Supreme Court for determining whether certain transactions qualify as investment contracts and hence subject to securities law. Kik is attempting to obtain a similar Supreme Court ruling that would finally determine how cryptocurrencies fall under securities laws, preferably in its favor.

Despite only launching in the last 24 hours, the crowdsourcing campaign, which accepts donations in 19 different cryptocurrencies, is already finding support. As of 9:45 p.m. EDT, the campaign had raised $5.312 million, already surpassing the initial goal of raising $5 million. Prominent backers include Circle Inc., ShapeShift AG, Messari Inc. and Arrington XRP Capital.

The only detail missing is exactly when the case may go to court. The SEC initially wrote to Kik in November saying that it had made a preliminary determination that the 2017 ICO was subject to securities laws, giving the company the opportunity to respond prior to court action. Kik responded in December, then went on to say in January that it was planning to fight the SEC ruling in court.

The SEC has yet to comment publicly on the case at all, let alone confirm that it was taking legal action against the company. The lack of comment is notable because the SEC has never been shy in publicizing details of action it was taking against companies promoting allegedly illegal ICOs in the past.

Image: Kik