TikTok COO steps down, notes blockchain as 'incredible innovation' that can change the future

V Pappas, Chief Operating Officer of the video sharing platform TikTok, announced that they are stepping down from the role in an internal memo to employees that was later shared on Twitter. 

Pappas intends to focus on more entrepreneurial endeavors after parting from the company. In the farewell letter, they noted the innovation happening across multiple technologies that included blockchain.

"Given all the successes reached at TikTok, I finally feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions. Few had imagined what the last five years would look like and with all the incredible innovation happening now with generative AI, robotics, renewable energy, genomics, blockchain and the IoT, clearly the future will again look much different," Pappas wrote. 

Though mostly known for viral dances and short-form content, TikTok dabbled with web3 projects over the past few years. In Sept. 2021, TikTok released an NFT collection of videos from the platform's most popular creators, and the firm also integrated the blockchain-based music platform Audius in mid-August of 2021.