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Startup run by OnlyFans founder submitted intent to bid on

TikTok

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The startup, Zoop, is partnering with a cryptocurrency

foundation

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Zoop gives majority of revenues back to its creators

By Anna Tong

April 2 - 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.

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.

On Wednesday, Amazon ( AMZN ) also put in a last-minute

offer to buy TikTok, the New York Times reported.

U.S. 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 U.S. ban on national security grounds

under a U.S. 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 the app to conduct

influence operations against the United States.

TikTok advocates argue that the ban unlawfully threatens

to restrict Americans from accessing foreign media in violation

of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which

guarantees freedom of speech.

Trump postponed enforcement of the law until April 5

after taking office in January to give himself time to shepherd

a deal. He has said he could extend the deadline further if

needed.

The talks on TikTok have coalesced around a plan for the

biggest non-Chinese investors in ByteDance to raise their stakes

and acquire the app's U.S. operations, Reuters has reported.

Trump said last month his administration was in touch

with four different groups about a prospective TikTok deal,

without identifying them.

In the closely watched sale of TikTok, the White House is

playing the role of an investment bank, with U.S. Vice President

JD Vance running the auction.