I was in the mood for a random documentary the other night, and Netflix came to the rescue. This doc was suuuuuper interesting, diving into the early days of digital currencies, and explaining how they all really came to be.
THE BLURB:
Bitcoin, the decentralized currency of the internet, grabs the attention of a curious public and the ire of the regulators the technology has subverted.
WHAT WORKED:
I’m a luddite when it comes to cryptocurrencies. For reals. I know virtually nothing about them. So, in that regard, this movie was fascinating, because it a decent job of explaining the genesis and history of the innovation, and why it even IS an innovation. Like, I had no freaking idea who Satoshi Nakamoto was! Never even heard the name. Had no idea that nobody else out there knows who he is, either. How cool and mysterious is that??? He invented Bitcoin, which arguably is responsible for the coming adoption of the block-chain as a method of moving money around…and nobody knows who he actually is. No one. It’s a real, true life secret. Makes me think of Ready Player One.
The interviews are all pretty impressive, too. They talk to some of the major pioneers of the whole movement. I also really enjoyed the brief dive they did into the regulation of cryptocurrencies, and the government corruption that’s already rampant, as there always is with any new wild-west money frontier.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK:
Okay…so this documentary is unapologetically PRO-crypto currencies. There is almost zero talk about the downsides of an entirely anonymous, untrackable form of commerce. It’s no coincidence that the Silk Road popularized Bitcoin in the first place, a haven for all kinds of illegal activity including murder and sex trafficking. Those dangers are real, they’re not just the Big Man pushing back against something they can’t regulate…though it’s important to note that the “Big Man” push-back is also real.
It’s also–and this is no fault of the documentary itself–woefully outdated now, given how much has changed in the Bitcoin landscape, and *continues* to change. A really amazing, comprehensive documentary about cryptocurrencies may not be possible to make for another decade. I don’t know. It’s all changing so fast, growing in fits and spurts. This latest meteoric rise rollercoaster crash of Bitcoin, for example, are nowhere to be found in this movie because it came out before all that happened.
At the end of the day, it is a competently, if rather unremarkablly done documentary about a remarkable subject. Cryptocurrencies are the future. Block chain technology DOES have inherent value. It’s not all smoke and mirrors like some would have you believe.
7/10 – recommended, if you’re in the mood