When the Kik team announcement their initial coin offering a while ago, many people had high expectations. A well-known and respected messaging service issuing its own tokens could introduce a lot more people to the cryptocurrency industry. In the next few weeks, all users must migrate their KIN tokens from Ethereum to Bancor. This move has some very interesting potential consequences.

Moving Away From Ethereum

The biggest development to take note of is how the Kik team has made it rather clear they do not want to use Ethereum’s infrastructure for their token. The decision to switch to Bancor is rather interesting, albeit not all that surprising. Numerous other projects have moved away from Ethereum in search of greener pastures.  Whether or not those decisions will pan out as expected, is a very different matter altogether.

With the migration to Bancor now almost completed, one can safely say the Kin token no longer has anything to do with Ethereum come June 15. As of right now, there is still an ERC20 relay active to swap KIN to the Bancor-based token accordingly. Once fully completed, the wait begins to determine if Bancor can live up to the Kik team’s expectations in terms of sustainability and scalability.

Manually Migrating ERC20 Tokens is Pertinent

Contrary to what most users might expect, the switch from ERC20 to Bancor tokens will not occur automatically. Users are advised to either use a swap service such as CoinSwitch or Changelly, or perform this course of action through an exchange. The swap services should complete this process in 30 minutes or less, which might be the more approachable option for KIN holders.

Several exchanges have also supported this migration since March of 2019. That list includes HitBTC, CoinTiger, LAToken, and a few others. However, it seems most of the “windows” for exchanges have closed already, as this swap was announced several months ago. Using the swapping service or the ERC20 relay is still a viable option at this time. Ensuring tokens are converted sooner rather than later is the best course of action.

Finding the Right Wallet

Sorting any cryptocurrency, token, or asset is always a matter of conducting proper research. For Kin holders, moving the funds to a Bancor-based wallet can be done when using either the Ledger or Atomic Wallet, as well as the Freewallet solution. All of these platforms support the old and new token at this time, which should make it relatively easy to generate a new address to receive the correct tokens.

Another option is to use Bancor’s own Smart Wallet, which allows users to support all ERC20 and EOS tokens in existence today. By default,  this also means the new Bancor-based tokens will be supported, as this integration was completed in late 2017. There are plenty of options for users to look into in this regard, albeit putting in some effort is to be expected at this time.

Boosting KIN’s Popularity on Bancor

As this token swap will enter the final stages, it is not unlikely KIN will overtake some other tokens issued on Bancor in popularity, albeit briefly. It is rather interesting to take note of how many tokens are currently running on top of Bancor’s infrastructure. This list is a lot longer than most people might assume, although it is evident Ethereum remains the undisputed leader in this regard.

Until Ethereum can successfully address the scaling concerns affecting the network, it seems likely there may be a few more migration efforts in the months and years to come. While it is a popular platform to issue ICO tokens, it seems things will get rather interesting in the coming months and years. For KIn users, not too much will change in terms of using the coin. In terms of which features and use cases may be unlocked in the future, one never knows what may come next.

Disclaimer: This is not trading or investment advice. The above article is for entertainment and education purposes only. Please do your own research before purchasing or investing into any cryptocurrency or digital currency.