Just like OnlyFans, Amazon has also reportedly submitted a last-minute bid for TikTok.
As the deadline looms for TikTok to find a U.S. buyer or face a ban, the founder of OnlyFans, Tim Stokely, has emerged as an unexpected contender in the high-stakes battle to acquire the short-video platform. In partnership with the Hbar Foundation, a cryptocurrency organization, Stokely’s new venture, Zoop, has officially submitted a bid to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The bid, submitted to the White House this week, highlights a growing list of suitors aiming to take control of TikTok, which boasts 170 million American users. Other potential buyers include tech giant Amazon, private equity firms like Blackstone, and a consortium led by Oracle and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Zoop, co-founded by Stokely and RJ Phillips, positions itself as a creator-first platform, aiming to shift power away from traditional social media giants. While OnlyFans gained prominence for its adult content model, Zoop is being branded as a mainstream and family-friendly platform that rewards creators for engagement.
“Our bid for TikTok isn’t just about changing ownership,” said Zoop co-founder RJ Phillips. “It’s about creating a new paradigm where both creators and their communities benefit directly from the value they generate.”
By partnering with the Hbar Foundation, which manages the Hedera blockchain, Zoop aims to integrate secure and transparent Web3 technology into TikTok’s ecosystem. The plan could potentially redefine revenue-sharing models for creators, ensuring they receive a greater share of advertising profits.
Adding to the drama, Amazon has also reportedly submitted a last-minute bid for TikTok. While Amazon has dabbled in social media before—acquiring Twitch in 2014 and testing a TikTok-style feed called Inspire—analysts remain skeptical about its interest. According to The New York Times, many involved in the discussions are not taking Amazon’s bid seriously.
The U.S. government has long raised national security concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership, fearing potential data access by the Chinese government. ByteDance has repeatedly denied such allegations, but last year, the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban by April 5.
President Donald Trump and his administration have been directly overseeing the sale, with Vice President JD Vance leading the discussions. Reports indicate that four major groups are currently under consideration, though Trump has left open the possibility of extending the deadline if negotiations require more time.
While Zoop and Hbar’s bid introduces an innovative blockchain-based model, the company faces stiff competition from larger, more established firms. Furthermore, ByteDance’s willingness to sell TikTok’s core algorithm, which powers its highly effective recommendation system, remains a major point of contention.
If the Chinese government refuses to allow the sale of TikTok’s algorithm, potential buyers, including Zoop, may have to operate the app without its most valuable asset or negotiate a licensing deal with ByteDance.
As the April 5 deadline approaches, the White House is expected to make a final decision on TikTok’s fate. If no deal is reached, the U.S. government could move to ban TikTok entirely, affecting millions of users and content creators who rely on the platform.
