A startup run by Tim Stokely, founding father of grownup content material social media web site OnlyFans, has partnered with a cryptocurrency basis to submit a late-stage plan to accumulate quick video app TikTok from Chinese language proprietor ByteDance, the 2 stated on Wednesday.
The intent to bid was despatched this week to the White Home by Zoop, billionaire Stokely’s new firm, and the Hbar Basis, which manages the Hedera cryptocurrency community’s treasury.
Whereas OnlyFans is understood primarily for pornography, Zoop is mainstream and family-friendly, and offers again nearly all of its income to those that publish on the positioning, rewarding them for driving up person 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 instructed Reuters.
The companions have been working with a consortium of buyers, Phillips stated. He declined to offer particulars on the bid or the buyers backing it.
On Wednesday, Amazon additionally put in a last-minute supply to purchase TikTok, the New York Instances reported.
President Trump is predicted on Wednesday to contemplate a proposal for TikTok to determine the destiny of the app utilized by 170 million Individuals. ByteDance faces an April 5 deadline to both promote TikTok or face a US ban on nationwide safety grounds beneath a US regulation that took impact on Jan. 19.
The regulation, handed final yr with broad bipartisan help, displays concern in Washington that TikTok’s possession makes it beholden to the Chinese language authorities and that Beijing may use the app to conduct affect operations in opposition to the USA.
TikTok advocates argue that the ban unlawfully threatens to limit Individuals from accessing international media in violation of the First Modification of the US Structure, which ensures freedom of speech.
Trump postponed enforcement of the regulation till April 5 after taking workplace in January to provide himself time to shepherd a deal. He has stated he may prolong the deadline additional if wanted.
The talks on TikTok have coalesced round a plan for the most important non-Chinese language buyers in ByteDance to lift their stakes and purchase the app’s US operations, Reuters has reported.
Trump stated final month his administration was in contact with 4 totally different teams a few potential TikTok deal, with out figuring out them.
Within the intently watched sale of TikTok, the White Home is enjoying the position of an funding financial institution, with Vice President JD Vance operating the public sale.
