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The Hbar Foundation has partnered with Zoop, a startup founded by Onlyfans creator Tim Stokely, to bid on Tiktok’s U.S. operations.
Zoop, Hbar Foundation Aim for New Creator Paradigm
The Hbar Foundation, a cryptocurrency foundation managing the Hedera cryptocurrency network’s treasury, has teamed with Zoop, a startup launched by Onlyfans founder Tim Stokely, to bid for Tiktok from Bytedance.
A Reuters report said the bid, sent to the White House, comes as Tiktok faces an April 5 deadline to either sell its U.S. operations or face a ban on national security grounds. The New York Times reported that Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has also submitted a last-minute offer to buy the popular social media app.
Other companies reportedly in the running to acquire Tiktok include Project Liberty, led by Frank McCourt, and Kevin O’Leary. U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is also said to be involved in talks, as are Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone.
According to the report, Stokely’s startup, Zoop, is a mainstream and family-friendly platform that rewards content creators for driving user engagement. It reportedly gives back the majority of its revenue to those who post on the site, a deviation from Onlyfans, where a significant portion of users create and share explicit adult content.
Zoop’s partnership with Hbar Foundation reportedly aims to create a new paradigm where both creators and their communities benefit directly from the value they generate.
The acquisition talks have centered on a plan for the largest non-Chinese investors in Bytedance to raise their stakes and acquire Tiktok’s U.S. operations. The White House is reportedly playing the role of an investment bank, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance is expected to run the auction.
If successful, the partnership between Zoop and Hbar Foundation could transform Tiktok’s business model, potentially integrating cryptocurrency payments and rewarding content creators with Hedera’s HBAR tokens.