The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

documentary

source: The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

This is a 2014 historic documentary on Bitcoin. It is documented very early stages of adoption, development of this new innovation. Their optimism in the technology is what led to the current blockchain ecosystem today.

It is very well made and touches (and explains) most of the more interesting functions and applications of this new technology. Blockchain (Bitcoin) is the key for the decentralized future of humanity, once the centralized and corrupt current systems crumble on their own weight. So this documentary depicts why bitcoin is the future not only for money, but for many more imagined (contracts, global ledger, voting, etc) and yet unimagined decentralized and transparent services for the good of every human being. Just as reference: "Bitcoin is the currency of the Internet: a distributed, worldwide, decentralized digital money. Unlike traditional currencies such as dollars, bitcoins are issued and managed without any central authority whatsoever: there is no government, company, or bank in charge of Bitcoin. As such, it is more resistant to wild inflation and corrupt banks. With Bitcoin, you can be your own bank."

I watched this movie when it first aired officially at the House of Blues in Chicago prior to the 2014 Bitcoin conference there. I felt bursts of melancholy, joy and, yes, pride throughout the entire film. Daniel literally traveled the world and was there with some of the earliest Bitcoin pioneers and RECORDED it all. Nobody else has done that! This is a truly unique piece of history that you CANNOT miss, whether you're into Bitcoin or not. I truly believe that it will be remembered, talked about, and referenced for eternity or something close to it. Magnificent!!

I expected this movie to be a pump-you-up about the amazing-ness of super technology Bitcoin. Instead, what I got was a very down-to- earth representation of the true grassroots nature of the Bitcoin. There was actually zero focus on the money you can make by investing, or really any allusions to the fact that you could invest now and get rich. It wasn't a movie telling you about why Bitcoin is great, they showed you. Definitely a real "community" feel to the movie, no glamour, just the dirt, really. I liked it a lot. I really think the title "the Rise and Rise of Bitcoin" is more fitting to the actual infrastructure and community of Bitcoiners, having very little to do with the price.

R&R is an interesting primer on the early weeks, months and years of the crypto currency Bitcoin. As a follower of Bitcoin for the past year I was eager to see the first feature length film documenting it. I think it makes a great primer on the subject for a curios audience to get a good working knowledge of the concept, community and technology that underpins Bitcoin without having to wade through Reddit and other community based sites. Bitcoin is an incredibly fast moving technology, and as the first real new money to be created in the past 2000 years it's a massively complex and fluid ecosystem that the film makers have done well to capture and document from it's infancy through the first few years of it's life. Therein however lies the major problem with the subject matter and the film. It's so fast moving that the film is already 3 or 4 months out of date at launch, which in Bitcoin terms is an eon. It is also a little unstructured and wanders around with little direction in places. This is in no way a slur on the film makers as the nature of feature length film is that it takes time, and documenting a global phenomenon that is changing daily is no mean feat. I think that in the same way that Bitcoin is revolutionising our concept of value transfer and decentralised trustless networks, comment on it is better suited to faster and more immediate media such as blogs, real time vid casts, chat rooms etc. Definitely worth a watch though. History in the making.

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin achieves the opposite of what one would assume its goals are. Right from the start we're greeted with the Winklevoss twins. Two men best known for 'suing the Facebook guy'. After a moment is taken for them to share their attempts to enrich themselves further at the expense of others the movies narrator goes on to tell the audience he's recently spent a great many bitcoins on a Butterfly Labs bitcoin miner. Butterfly labs is one of the many now bankrupt or under investigation companies we're invited to take a look at. The Rise and Rise is documented proof that the bitcoin landscape is made up of thieves, lairs and bad actors. The few people who get involved 'out of interest' are sheep that get eaten alive by the wolves at the top of the pyramid scheme. Notable people interviewed: Charlie Shrem - now a convicted felon due to money laundering. Erik Voorhees - claims to have renounced his American citizenship and fled to Panama after selling an illegal gambling company. Gavin Andresen - employed by the notoriously corrupt 'Bitcoin Foundation' (of which many members have stepped down) to maintain the Bitcoin code. Mark Karpeles - Amazing visionary who unfortunately got caught up and had his name sullied by the vicious money hungry Bitcoin community. Roger Ver - Bitcoin Missionary. This documentary is well worth watching, it's comedy gold.

This movie is nothing but a fluff piece to pump a pyramid scheme that is already collapsing. Basically it's just a bunch of greedy pigs spewing propaganda to try to make you a greater fool in their pyramid. They are really desperate right now, because bitcoin is down over 70% in just a few months, so they need to scam more people fast before the scheme crashes completely. They are all losing huge amounts of money, and want you to join them on their misery. Just ignore them, and let them hold the hot potato till it burns their hands for good ;) Happy I could help you stay away from yet another online scam. Since there's money involved, expect the peddlers to come out in droves to try to push this get-poor-quick scheme down your throat.

Bitcoin may sound very abstract, but it's carried by people of flesh and blood. This movie follows some of the main players in the first years of Bitcoin. See their excitement, share their passion. Sometimes they stumble or fall, but they keep going. In between, you get to learn how Bitcoin works and what it's all about. If you want to know more about Bitcoin, but are less of a techie and more of a peoples person, this movie is for you. The only thing I missed in the part that covered 2013 is the developments in China. I can imagine that it was a bit 'out of scope' for the makers, but it felt like an omission to me, especially since its relevance for the November rally. But other than that, a great movie!