Documentaries
Bitcoins in Argentina and Bitcoin in Uganda
2013 and 2014
Two short videos about how cryptocurrency is changing the lives of people in developing countries. The first film shows how residents of Argentina use Bitcoin to protect their funds from hyperinflation.
The second film tells the story of a student from Uganda, whose parents cheaply transfer money abroad using Bitcoin.
Life on Bitcoin
2013
The experimental film was made by American newlyweds Austin and Becky Craig. Back in 2013, they decided to spend the first 90 days of their married life paying for all purchases only in Bitcoin. The couple wanted to prove to skeptics that it was possible. Spoiler: it wasn't easy, but they did it. The Craigs were able to pay for everyday purchases and did not starve or go wild. Often they had to convince sellers to accept Bitcoin instead of dollars. After the film, the couple raised more than $70,000 on Kickstarter, which they used to go on an international tour to present the film. The picture turned out to be kind, sweet and perfect for family viewing.
Deep Web
2015
The film tells the story of the darknet site Silk Road, the formation of a decentralized, shadow, encrypted Internet, as well as the role of Bitcoin in all of this. Much attention is paid to the FBI investigations and legal consequences for Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht. The voiceover belongs to the great Bitcoin enthusiast Keanu Reeves.
Blockchain and Us
2017
Swiss director Manuel Stagars describes the state of blockchain in 2022 through extensive interviews with experts from five countries. The film lasts only half an hour and during this time the following questions are raised: how blockchain can benefit the economies of countries, how it will change society, what it means for each of us, etc. The author admits that he deliberately raises more questions than he answers. The film was shown at the Davos Economic Forum and several documentary film festivals, translated into eight languages and is considered one of the best documentaries on the topic.
Magic Money: The Bitcoin Revolution
2018
The film tells about the beginning of the history of cryptocurrencies and the path they have taken. Filmed in Australia, the film features conversations with Bitcoin Cash creator Roger Ver, analyst Tony Weiss, investor and crypto enthusiast Trace Mayer, crypto entrepreneur Jeff Berwick and other prominent industry figures. Most of the time is devoted to Roger Ver and his “sermon” about the revolutionary nature of Bitcoin. He believes that cryptocurrencies will one day replace fiat in everyday transactions, taking financial power away from regulators and authorities and transferring it to ordinary users. The film also shows examples of how digital assets are being used by people in the world's poorest countries who could not access banking services.
State vs Bitcoin
2018
Russian documentary film from the studio “Speaks and Shows”, shown at the Cannes Documentary Film Festival. It talks about the relationship between cryptocurrencies and authorities in different countries. Of course, a lot has changed since the film's release in October 2018, but the core pain points are still the same. A nice bonus is an interview with representatives of the Russian crypto industry: BeEasy CEO Alexander Bespalov, EXMO co-founder Ivan Petukhovsky, HashFlare business development director Edgar Bers, founder of the LavkaLavka chain of stores Boris Akimov. The filmmakers believe that the legalization of cryptocurrencies is a matter of time. We just need to wait for a more massive distribution of crypto-assets among a wider audience, recognition by large businesses and solve technical problems, for example, collecting taxes in digital assets.
Blockchain City — The Future of Cities Driven by Blockchain
2018
The film tells the story of cities and countries that are testing blockchain in everyday life: Dubai, the Netherlands and Estonia. The creators are confident that blockchain will transform our future in more ways than we currently imagine.
Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain
2018
This film is an excellent introduction to the world of blockchain and describes the key principles of the technology. The author understands what decentralized distributed registries and cryptocurrencies are, what their advantages and risks are, and what practical applications they have already found. The big question is, is blockchain ready to become more than a bubble?
The answer is yes: blockchain can change the financial world and help fight income inequality and poverty in developing countries. The film contains many interviews with famous representatives of the crypto world, and Rosario Dawson, an American actress, singer and writer, comments on it.
BIT X BIT: Faith in Bitcoin (BIT X BIT: In Bitcoin We Trust)
2019
The film shows the history of the creation and development of blockchain and Bitcoin, telling how they create a new system for transferring values and change the world. This is an educational film - if you are already familiar with the topic, you will find little new for yourself. But you can listen to interviews with industry representatives from around the world, for example, the Winklevoss twins, Andreas Antonopoulos, Peter Todd and others.
Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet
2020
In 2015, Australian Thorsten Hoffman directed the film Bitcoin: The End Of Money As We Know It, which talks about what Bitcoin is, why it is needed, how it will change the world and why he is the future of the financial system. This year, the author released a new film, analyzing the path the coin has traveled over five years and reassessing its prospects. Hoffman remains confident that Bitcoin is the next life of the financial system. This time, the main focus is on the question of whether cryptocurrencies can become the basis for a new decentralized Internet.
2017: And again China
After the Bitfinex story, the value of the cryptocurrency continued to rise. However, at the very beginning of this year, namely on January 5, the People's Bank of China struck a new blow. The cost of one bitcoin fell sharply by 31%, amounting to $889, after the National Bank of Ukraine introduced another ban related to the circulation of cryptocurrency.
Although the path to success for Bitcoin remains challenging, the fact that the cryptocurrency has withstood so many challenges proves its viability and the large number of its adherents who continue to believe in the triumph of cryptocurrency, despite periodic setbacks.
Art films
Drug (Dope)
2015
The film tells the story of Malcolm, a teenager from Inglewood, a disadvantaged area of Los Angeles. He dreams of going to Harvard, but the school counselor believes that the guy has no chance. After participating in an underground party, he finds a large quantity of ecstasy, a pistol and an iPhone in his bag - the teenager becomes involved in the drug trade. To survive, he and his friends create a website to sell drugs for bitcoins. Watch and see if Malcolm can get out of this story and get into Harvard.
Bitcoin Heist
2016
Vietnamese action movie with kung fu, shootouts, chases, beautiful men and women, luxurious life - and all this against the backdrop of an adventure with bitcoins. A hacker nicknamed the Phantom is stealing millions of cryptocurrency, no one can catch him, and he is preparing to commit his biggest crime. Interpol tried all official methods, but could not catch the Phantom. One of the special agents decides to use prohibited methods and assembles a team of professional hackers - a kind of “suicide squad” - who must stop the hacker.
Virality (Viraali)
2017
Finnish psychological drama reflecting on the dangers of modern society. This is not an entertaining film. It tells the story of four unrelated characters in parallel. Kari is an intellectual police officer who was planning to become a physicist and is in a difficult relationship with a cellist. Ian is a young, talented rapper who loves to shoot. Harry is an elderly banker who is grieving the death of his wife. Mick is a cell phone store salesman who dreams of change. Everyone ends up together by chance at a mining farm in a bank office. Unfortunately, bitcoins will not bring them happiness.
Crypto
2019
This is a financial thriller. Martin is a banking analyst specializing in anti-money laundering. Having fallen out of favor with his superiors for his diligence and honesty, he receives an order to conduct an audit of a provincial bank in the city in which he grew up. The town has changed: the local bar now accepts bitcoins, and a childhood friend has his own mining farm. Martin accidentally uncovers a multi-million dollar money laundering scheme going through a local art gallery. Fraudsters sell paintings for cryptocurrencies. This is the most difficult and dangerous case in his career. By getting involved, he crosses the path of the Russian mafia and puts his own family at risk. A big plus is the film's cast: Bo Knapp, Kurt Russell and Luke Hemsworth.
How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)
2019
German teen series for two seasons on Netflix, based on real events. In 2013, German teenager Maximilian began selling drugs right from his own bedroom and sold €4.5 million worth of illegal substances in two years. He worked like a professional: darknet, fraudulent IP addresses, encryption, bank accounts with fake passports. The guy was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to seven years in prison.
The real story of Maximilian was not very suitable for cinema - the schoolboy almost never left his room. Therefore, the creators of the series turned him into a schoolboy named Moritz. His heart is broken - the girl went to the drug dealer. To win back his love, Moritz decides to become the coolest drug dealer in the city. He, together with his best friend Lenny, a terminally ill guy, launches a drug trade via the Internet, of course, for bitcoins. Will Moritz manage to get his beloved back and not go to jail is the main intrigue of the series.
Despite the provocative plot, the series is instructive - drugs in it are evil, people feel bad about them, and you don’t want to repeat them. While building his drug cartel, Moritz receives answers to questions that are also relevant for an adult: what is love, friendship, devotion. This is Breaking Bad for teenagers. A nice bonus is that the series is short: 6 episodes of 30 minutes per season, you can watch it in one evening.
Unfortunately, most feature films that mention digital assets are crime dramas or thrillers. It’s sad that filmmakers associate digital assets only with something illegal. We have not found a single film about cryptocurrencies where the hero would get rich from digital assets and live happily. If you know one, write in the comments.
October 2013: Arrest of Ross Ulbricht
The mysterious owner of Silk Road, who had been hiding from the intelligence services for more than two years, was arrested on October 7, 2013. The appearance of this news caused an immediate collapse of the Bitcoin rate by almost half - from $120 to $70 within an hour.
However, traders quickly appreciated the positive aspect of the event - the collapse of the largest criminal empire with which cryptocurrency was associated. In less than a day, the price again rose above $100, and the low point of the fall on that day became the minimum below which Bitcoin has not fallen since then.
Series
Mr. Robot
2015-2019
The already iconic American series tells the story of the brilliant and unsociable hacker Elliot Alderson. The leader of a hacker group is trying to recruit him in order to destroy a corporation seeking to gain control over the world. Cryptocurrencies are mentioned frequently in the show. Thus, the main villains - Evil Corporation - release their own cryptocurrency and with its help want to gain control of every wallet and seize financial power. In one episode, Elliot uses cryptocurrencies and mixers to hide transaction history for money laundering. It's funny that the show showed the address of a real Bitcoin wallet. After the episode aired, fans of the show began sending coins to it. A total of 0.00432954 BTC was sent—several tens of dollars.
Startup
2016
The American television crime drama on the streaming service Crackle has 3 seasons, telling about the FBI's fight against financial criminals. Special Agent Phil Rusk, played by Martin Freeman, is investigating the illegal activities of an old criminal who asked his son, a talented financier, to help legalize his income. He, in turn, with the help of programmers, created for this purpose a new cryptocurrency, GenCoin, which cannot be tracked or controlled, and transferred his father’s money into it. Rask will have to find a way to prove the criminal source of funds and stop the scammers. Several other storylines are developing in parallel. The series warns that cryptocurrencies are not a panacea and can be used for evil in the wrong hands.
Miners
2019
Russian YouTube series. The episodes are short, 10-20 minutes each, the last one has not yet been released. The series tells about amateur miner Andrey and his friends. Andrey finds a Bitcoin wallet with a large amount on a randomly purchased used HDD. He makes a transaction with him, but after that he and a journalist he knows are kidnapped by unknown people. So Andrei finds himself drawn into mysterious events in which the legendary Satoshi Nakamoto may be involved.
"Miners" is an amateur project. The actors are inexperienced, the filming is low-budget, and many scenes are shot in Screen Life format, with the action taking place on a computer screen. This will not suit everyone, but the authors tried. This is an attempt to understand the role and functions of cryptocurrencies in modern society through a detective story. If this were filmed in America, it would make a good detective series.
The series was filmed by a television production company from Lipetsk. The studio tried to raise money through crowdfunding on Planeta.ru, but users did not support the idea. Initially, an unnamed major film company approached the studio with an order to develop a story about miners. Later, she abandoned the idea of filming the series, and the authors decided to film the series themselves. In addition to “Miners,” the studio also released documentaries about the history of Bitcoin, “The Gold of the Digital Age of Bitcoin” and “Bitcoin and the State.” By the way, they are smart, although a little outdated. If you want to feel a little nostalgic and be amazed at how far cryptocurrencies have come, be sure to check it out.
The Big Bang Theory - Season 11, Episode 9
2017
In the midst of the 2022 crypto boom, the series' characters Leonard, Raj and Howard recall that they mined a lot of Bitcoin in 2012. It's funny that the main wise guy, Sheldon Cooper, did not participate in mining at the time, fearing tax consequences. The heroes have difficulty remembering that the bitcoins were on the laptop that Penny, the wife of one of the heroes, gave to her ex-boyfriend. The episode is worth watching even if you're not a fan of the show, as it clearly shows how Bitcoin has gone from being a worthless digital trinket to a treasured asset that can make its owners rich. The series also shows well how not to store cryptocurrency and why so many early-mined bitcoins disappeared forever.
These are only 20 films and TV series about cryptocurrency and blockchain. We must have missed something worthwhile. What do you recommend watching? Share your finds in the comments!
2011: Hacking Mt Gox
Bitcoin owes one of its first major drops to the now defunct Mt Gox exchange, which closed in 2014. However, back in 2011, it was quite flourishing - it was then, on February 9, 2011, that Bitcoin first reached parity with the US dollar and was valued at $1 per bitcoin on the Mt Gox exchange, and its price continued to rise, reaching almost $32 by mid-June. However, on June 19, 2011, after the Mt Gox hack, the price of the cryptocurrency fell in a matter of minutes to a few cents, and then recovered for a long time. It took many months for the rate to return to pre-hack numbers.
