The short-video social media platform TikTok is seeing a surge in bidding as the weekend deadline for finding a buyer draws near. In addition to Amazon (AMZN.O) launching a new tab, a group headed by Tim Stokely, the founder of OnlyFans, is the most recent to enter the
TikTok market. Under fear of being banned from the US, the website has until April 5 to strike an agreement to locate a non-Chinese buyer.
TikTok and its owner, ByteDance, have refuted security concerns expressed by U.S. officials regarding the app’s connections to China. Officials from the Trump administration will meet on Wednesday to talk about TikTok’s possibilities.
A cryptocurrency foundation has teamed up with startup Zoop, led by Stokely, the creator of the adult content social media platform OnlyFans, to submit a late-stage bid for TikTok, the two told Reuters on Wednesday.
Amazon wrote to Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, according to a U.S. administration official. TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately reply to demands for comment, while Amazon declined to comment.
Following the announcement of the last-minute TikTok deal, Amazon’s stock increased by almost 2%.
An internal social media network has long been a goal of Amazon’s in order to increase sales and attract younger customers.
In an attempt to create a sustainable social network, it purchased the book review website Goodreads in 2013 and the live video website Twitch in 2014 for around $1 billion.
Additionally, Amazon created and tried Inspire, a short-form video and photo feed that was similar to TikTok and shut down earlier this year.
Without naming the organizations, Trump said last month that his government had contacted four of them regarding the platform’s sale.
