OnlyFans founder, crypto foundation submit late-stage bid to buy TikTok
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.
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.
The partners have been working with a consortium of investors, Phillips said. He declined to provide details on the bid or the investors backing it.
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On Wednesday, Amazon also put in a last-minute offer to buy TikTok, the New York Times reported.
US President Donald Trump is expected on Wednesday to consider a proposal for TikTok to decide the fate of the app used by 170 million Americans. ByteDance faces an April 5 deadline to either sell TikTok or face a US ban on national security grounds under a US law that took effect on January 19.
The law, passed last year with broad bipartisan support, reflects concern in Washington that TikTok's ownership makes it beholden to the Chinese government and that Beijing could use