Chat app Kik launched a digital currency, and detailed plans to create an ecosystem extending beyond its own network to thousands of third party services.

In a blog post, Kik founder and CEO Ted Livingston (pictured) said the currency, named Kin, would initially be earned and exchanged by Kik members for a range of activities within its platform.

Kik’s strategy to build Kin into a challenger transaction method is offering units of the currency to developers in exchange for building acceptance for the currency into applications and services

“While Kik will initially be the only service using Kin, our ultimate vision is that our chat app will be just one of thousands of services in the Kin ecosystem,” Livingston explained, adding: “To maximize the chances of success, we’re dedicating the majority of Kin to a rewards system that will provide a financial incentive for developers.”

Alongside the system itself, Kik formed the Kin Foundation, a not for profit organisation created to manage the fledgling community of developers using the payment platform.

Discussing the Foundation, Livingston said: “We believe this path leads to a future that is compelling for consumers, and open and fair for developers. It’s a path that provides an alternative to an otherwise inevitable future in which a tiny number of companies control all of the digital services that are most important in our lives.”

Kik is a social network and chat app, largely aimed at the teen market in English speaking countries. Its investors include WeChat owner Tencent.