Founder of OnlyFans and Hbar Foundation Placed Late-Stage Bid to Purchase TikTok

They newly formed collaboration between Hbar Foundation and Tim Stokely, the creator of OnlyFans, announced on 3 April that it has submitted a late-stage plan to buy the short video app TikTok from its Chinese owner, ByteDance. The Hbar Foundation, which oversees the treasury of the Hedera cryptocurrency network, and Zoop, the new business of millionaire Stokely, sent the intent to bid to the White House this week. OnlyFans is mostly renowned for its erotica content. On the other hand, Zoop is a mainstream, family-friendly website that rewards its users for increasing user engagement by returning the majority of its profits to the people who post on it. RJ Phillips, a co-founder of Zoop, told the media that the company's offer for TikTok is about establishing a new paradigm. This development means the value that creators create directly benefits their communities as well as themselves. According to Phillips, the partners have been collaborating with a group of investors. He refused to elaborate on the bid or the investors supporting it.

Amazon also Putting its Bid

According to a media report, Amazon also made a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok on 2 April. US President Donald Trump is anticipated to review a proposal for TikTok that would determine the future of the 170 million-user app. According to US legislation that went into force on January 19, ByteDance has until April 5 to sell TikTok or risk being banned from the US for national security reasons. Concern in Washington that TikTok's ownership makes it accountable to the Chinese government and that Beijing could use the app to carry out influence operations. These concerns were reflected in the bill, which was passed last year with widespread backing from both parties. Supporters of TikTok contend that the prohibition violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects free speech, by illegally threatening to deny Americans access to foreign media.

Trump Pushing the TikTok Deal

After taking office in January, Trump delayed the law's implementation until April 5 in order to negotiate an agreement. He has stated that if necessary, he could further extend the deadline. According to a media outlet, discussions on TikTok have come to a consensus on a plan for the largest non-Chinese investors in ByteDance to increase their investments and buy the app's US business. Without naming the groups, Trump said last month that his administration was in contact with four of them on a potential TikTok merger. The White House is acting as an investment bank in the much-publicised TikTok sale, and US Vice President JD Vance is in charge of the bidding.