Cryptopia: Bitcoin, blockchains and the internet

In the way that early computer technology can now look primitive and underdeveloped, we may well soon say the same about today’s blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Their potential is vast, but they are widely misunderstood and mistrusted, and the crypto world is mired in its own power struggles, so it is hard to fathom their real-word significance.

Yet this industry is very much alive and kicking. Blockchains are essentially shared “ledgers” – records of transactions – that do not require a third-party administrator like a bank or a finance trader. Transactions and data can be accessed transparently and are said to be incorruptible. Thus blockchain technology has the potential to become the foundation of every business interaction that requires trust and cooperation.

But there are questions to be asked about this utopian dream of bypassing the corrupt, profiteering international banking world: are blockchain projects in the end just as unfairly distributed and easily manipulated as today’s financial systems and tech platforms?

This documentary takes a deep dive into this complex ecosystem to hear from all sides of the crypto-world – the good, the bad and the very geeky. Our on-screen host is award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffman of the film Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It. With his unrivalled and exclusive access, he takes us on a journey to meet the main players and their critics, and help us get to grips with the core concepts. Along the way he asks some serious questions about trust, the idea of a crypto-utopia and how we, as a society, navigate huge technological changes.