A startup run by Tim Stokely, founder of adult content social media site OnlyFans, has partnered with a cryptocurrency foundation to submit a late-stage plan to acquire short video app TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance, the two said on Wednesday.
The intent to bid was sent this week to the White House by Zoop, billionaire Stokely’s new company, and the Hbar Foundation, which manages the Hedera cryptocurrency network’s treasury, according to Reuters.
While OnlyFans is known mainly for pornography, Zoop is mainstream and family-friendly, and gives back the majority of its revenue to those who post on the site, rewarding them for driving up user engagement.
“Our bid for TikTok isn’t just about changing ownership, it’s about creating a new paradigm where both creators and their communities benefit directly from the value they generate,” Zoop co-founder RJ Phillips told Reuters.
Amazon.com has also put in a last-minute bid to buy TikTok, a U.S. administration official said on Wednesday, just days ahead of an April 5 deadline for the short-form video app to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to discuss TikTok’s fate at an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday and consider a final proposal related to the app, a White House official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Amazon declined to comment, while TikTok and its parent company ByteDance did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Shares of Amazon rose 1.3% in a volume spike after the report.
