Reddit Co-Founder Joins TikTok Acquisition Bid, Plans Blockchain Integration

Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, has joined a bidding group led by Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. Ohanian’s vision is to transform the popular app by integrating it with blockchain technology. Specifically, he plans to use the Frequency blockchain, which allows users and creators to own their content and data, shifting control away from centralized platforms.

Reddit Co-founder’s Plans for Blockchain-based TikTok

Exciting news for the digital world…

I’m officially now one of the people trying to buy TikTok US — and bring it on-chain.

TikTok has been a game-changer for creators, and it’s future should be built by them↓ pic.twitter.com/SPq1Ppv1kK

— Alexis Ohanian 🗽 (@alexisohanian) March 4, 2025

In another post on X, Ohanian emphasized the potential of TikTok for creators, stating, “The future of TikTok should be built by creators. Users should own their data. Creators should own their audience.” Ohanian’s role in the bid as a strategic advisor will focus on social media, with the goal of creating a more decentralized and user-centric platform.

The U.S. government has pressured TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations over national security and data privacy concerns. This pressure has led to the ongoing sale efforts, with McCourt’s Project Liberty offering a solution that emphasizes blockchain-driven data ownership. The project has been dubbed “The People’s Bid” due to its goal of empowering users through blockchain.

Frequency, the blockchain platform behind the project, is designed to provide a decentralized infrastructure for social media apps. It uses a pricing model and consensus mechanism to support high-volume interactions and ensure interoperability among various applications. By leveraging Frequency, TikTok could prioritize user privacy and digital independence, making these principles central to its new model.

Ohanian, who has a history of integrating blockchain into social media, such as Reddit’s Ethereum-based “Community Points”, sees this as an opportunity to set a new standard for digital communities. “A TikTok for the people, by the people,” he said, expressing excitement about the potential of this new direction.