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5 Times Bitcoin Appeared in Entertainment

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:51 PM
Justin OConnell
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:51 PM

Bitcoin has appeared increasingly in entertainment. Demonstrating the digital currency’s leak into the mainstream, these shows often touch on topics such as financial crisis, drugs, the future and even fantasy. The movies often use Bitcoin as an ancillary aspect of a greater storyline, though in some instances, the cryptocurrency is front and center.  Here are some of the five most notable appearances of Bitcoin in entertainment.

Dope

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A scene from Dope.

This 2015 American crime comedy-drama featured Bitcoin front and center, as a group of high school friends become entangled in a mess of drug dealing. They find themselves in possession of molly they must get rid of, and begin doing so through the darknet website. The film, executive produced by Pharrell Williams, is the only mainstream film featuring Bitcoin as a focal point of the plotline.

Mr. Robot

A screencap from the breakaway hacker series hit, Mr.Robot
A screencap from the breakaway hacker series hit, Mr.Robot

 

This American drama–thriller television series begins incorporating Bitcoin regularly in its second season as Mr. Robot recruits hacktivists who are tasked with erasing debt held by Evil Corporation. The series received six Emmy nominations, like Oustanding Drama Series.

Deadpool

Deadpool is a fictional antihero in books published by Marvel Comics. Deadpool is disfigured and mentally unstable with superhuman ability. He often breaks the fourth wall.

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Deadpool’s go-to bar accepts Bitcoin

The film grossed nearly $800 million, making it a blockbuster success. In Deadpool’s best friend’s bar, in the film, there is a Bitcoin sticker. Deadpool’s bar accepts Bitcoin.

StartUp

Startup Screen
The Martin Freeman-starting ‘Startup.’

 

StartUp debuted last night on Crackle. In the online series, an FBI agent tracks a digital currency company. The FBI knows the money is dirty, and is hot on the team’s tracks. The show has earned rave reviews for its lifelike depiction of encryption technologies and government interest.

Deep Web

This 2015 documentary, produced by Alex Winter, looks at the events around the Silk Road, bitcoin and politics on the dark web. The documentary features interviews with Wired writer Andy Greenberg and developer Amir Taaki, as well as narration from Winter’s Bill & Ted co-star Keanu Reeves. The film debuted at the 2015 South By Southwest film festival.

Bitcoin has made many more appearances in entertainment, including but not limited to CSI Cyber, the Simpsons, The Good Wife, Jeopardy, Almost Human, Parks And Recreation and many others. As the digital currency persists, it is likely Hollywood and other entertainment centers will evoke the digital currency many more times in the future. 

On the horizon, Bitcoiners can anticipate a film written by the Coen Brothers about the Silk Road, the darknet marketplace developed by Ross Ulbricht.  The Coen brothers most recently wrote, “Hail, Caesar.” They won an Oscar for the “No Country for Old Men” screenplay, and wrote the script for Steven Spielberg’s “Bridges of Spies.”