This documentary provides an excellent and concise history of the bitcoin using graphics and news clips. Complex information about technology, politics and economics is presented in an easy to understand way. Don't worry, there is no economics pre-requisite for this class.
The story is told by an early adopter from Pittsburgh that is a data miner. He explains about the developer of the system, Satoshi, who is known only by a pseudonym and mysteriously dropped off the radar before being discovered. The narrator then interviews Govin, who worked closely with Satoshi and carried on the movement.
The documentary crew also focuses on a few companies that develop around bitcoin usage. In NYC we meet the founders of a bitcoin purchasing site. And in San Francisco they follow an exchange site. We see how new bitcoins are brought into circulation and how they are bought and sold online. There is a constant fluctuation of value...there are crashes and booms. Within the course of the documentary, we watch the value go from less than a dollar to being worth hundreds.
On top of all of this, we see how there is a constant fear that governments will reject the system completely and all of this will be useless and the bitcoins will have no value. There is ongoing background discussion making sure everyone has lawyers that are ready just in case.
The audience gets to see the evolution as digital currency becomes a reality. These companies build around the use of bitcoins go from tech startups in lofts to full blown financial companies in corporate suites. A fan of the currency starts manufacturing physical representations of the coins in his living room. While they may not have any physical value, they are bought as essentially novelty items by other bitcoin enthusiasts.
On the other hand, bitcoins start getting some bad press because of their association with Silk Road (the online Black Market for drugs and other illegal transactions) and the WikiLeaks scandal. The crew visits an Internet Cafe in LA where customers use the anonymous setting to sell drugs online for bitcoins.
To look deeper into the legal ramifications, the narrator heads to DC to talk to the Financial Crime Division. While this crime fighting division of the Treasury Department isn't totally against bitcoins, they do monitor its use by terrorists and criminals.
The film goes on to travel the globe and meeting more of the people behind the advancement of the bitcoin. The narrator travels to conferences and festivals that celebrate this new community and thrive on this world of innovation. There are definite highs and lows in the story of digital currency, but what makes this documentary so great is that it is all unfolding in front of us. This well put together doc helps to explain the concept to us while it is still evolving. We, the audience, watch as one programmer dives into the world of bitcoin mining and its culture while documenting the rise of this new community.
I recommend this film to anyone out there that loves technology and still has hopes and dreams about what we can accomplish in the future. If you, like me, read magazines like Wired and watch The Discovery Channel, you will probably enjoy this film as well. Two thumbs up.
