Tim Stokely, the founder of OnlyFans, and a cryptocurrency foundation have joined forces to place a late-stage bid for the acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. operations from ByteDance.
What Happened: The bid was put forth this week by Zoop, Stokely’s latest venture, and the HBAR Foundation, which manages the Hedera (CRYPTO: HBAR) blockchain network, according to details shared with Benzinga.
The official X account of HBAR also posted a cryptic message with the TikTok logo and reposted media reports about the bid. Zoop didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for a comment.
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“We are committed to ensuring TikTok’s U.S. operations remain under American ownership and governance,” said RJ Phillips, Zoop co-founder and CEO. "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 collectively generate.”
Unlike OnlyFans, which is known for adult entertainment, Zoop is a mainstream content platform that pays both creators and fans.
Hedera is a public blockchain network that allows for the development of decentralized applications on top of it. HBAR lies at the center of the network, helping secure it through staking.
In March 2023, an attacker exploited the smart contract code of the network to transfer Hedera Token Service (HTS) tokens from targeted accounts to their own account, leading to the network being taken offline.
Price Action: At the time of writing, HBAR was exchanging hands at $0.1660, up 0.25% over the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Year-to-date, the cryptocurrency has tumbled 43%.
Image via Shutterstock
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