Will Kat.cr Return?

It looks like KickassTorrents (Kat.cr) is down, possibly for good. Users began reporting problems with KickassTorrents on Wednesday, although the site itself was still reporting that everything was running fine. But now nothing is working, including the site’s own status page. Recent news that KickassTorrents’ alleged owner was arrested and seven domains were seized by the U.S. government likely means that the site will be down for good soon.
Here’s what you need to know.

1. The KickassTorrents’ Status Webpage Is Now Unreachable

Users have been reporting problems with KickassTorrents. On the KickassTorrents Fan Club on Facebook, users have reported problems including:
Others responded with comments that page was sending them an error message that just read “is not available right now.”
Meanwhile, KickassTorrents’ status site first reported that “all systems are up and running.” However, users were suspicious that this information wasn’t up to date:

(kastatus.com)

And they were right, because now the site shows the following:

(KickassTorrents status)

It’s not looking good for KickassTorrents.

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2. The Site Is Down Because Domains Were Seized by the U.S. Government

The problems that users are experiencing are likely the result of a lawsuit that the U.S. filed against the alleged KickassTorrents owner, along with the seizure of seven KickassTorrents domains.
According to the complaint, the seized domains are:

• kickasstorrents.com
• kastatic.com
• thekat.tv
• kat.cr
• kickass.cr
• kickass.to
• kat.ph

According to Kickass Torrents’ status website, before it was taken down, the site still had proxy sites including kickassto.co, kickass.ag, kickass.cs, katproxy.is, thekat.se, katproxy.cc, lovekat.org, and an onion site. But now, none of those sites are working either.
KAT has moved its domains before. In early June, the site was pushing back against repeated attempts to block its domains, and it added a new domain on the Tor network.

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3. The Alleged Owner, Artem Vaulin, Faces Up to 20 Years in Jail

Artem Vaulin’s LinkedIn page, without a profile photo. (LinkedIn)

Artem Vaulin, the alleged owner, faces up to 20 years in jail for copyright infringement and money laundering conspiracy. The 30-year-old from Ukraine was arrested in Poland and the United States is seeking extradition. According to the lawsuit, Vaulin owned a company called Cryptoneat which may have been used as a front for KickassTorrents. However, an in-depth look at the company’s website, Instagram page, and Facebook page (most of which have since been taken down) looked like a legitimate company with possibly up to 20 employees.
According to CryptoNeat’s LinkedIn page:

We are a software development company crafting our own products since 2008. Our latest project is wine scanner iOS application Wineeapp.com.
We support personal responsibility and involvement with no overmanagement standing in the way of imagination and creative thinking.
Flexible schedules and smart workspace — we hold to the ergonomics cult: Herman Miller chairs, standing desks, Apple hardware and multi-monitor configurations.”

Cryptoneat also has an Instagram page here, which has since been taken down.

4. Copycat Sites of KickassTorrents Are Already Cropping Up

Meanwhile, copycat sites are already cropping up. The Verge reported that KAT.am, one KickassTorrents clone, had popped up online but was sketchy. (The site had an internal server error when we visited.) The creators told The Verge that it had the complete KAT database, including comments and user information. Another one at KickassTorrents.website was a limited mirror. (The Verge reported it was an Isohunt.to site, but TorrentFreak said this information was not accurate.) Meanwhile, TorrentFreak reported many more clones appearing, including Kickass.to (which now displays a seizure notice), and sites like Kickass.la who are telling reporters that they are an “official backup.”
Is this the end of KickassTorrents? Likely so, since the domains are now under the government’s control. Copycat sites may pop up, but we’re unlikely to see KickassTorrents again.