Bitcoin (BTC), the world's first and most successful cryptocurrency was just featured on the popular Showtime TV show Billions in its season five premiere.
The show features Paul Giamatti as Charles “Chuck” Rhoades. Image: Billions.
Billions is a popular TV series about billionaire hedge fund kingpin Bobby Axelrod, or 'Axe' and his duel with the hard-hearted US Attorney Chuck Rhoades.
Bitcoin back in Billions
Bitcoin's recent mention comes in the first episode of season five of the show, which airs each Sunday at 9 pm ET on Showtime.
Like most mentions of Bitcoin in mainstream media, the recent episode discussed Bitcoin in a negative tone—with attorney Rhoades remarking on the fact that it isn't backed by any physical assets.
Bitcoin on Billions! It’s beautiful, baby. :):):):)
"[...] So your multitude of computers can solve abstract math equations resulting in the mining of Bitcoin, worth millions right now but backed by what? Nada, nix…zat," said Rhoades during an interrogation.
The suspect fires back, "What’s the Dollar backed by since we went off the Gold Standard?"
While many people have spent their time in lockdown playing the popular game Animal Crossing New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch, at least one player has put in the work to ensure his in-game character doesn't miss Bitcoin's recent bullish activity.
The game typically revolves around completing various simple tasks, like chopping wood and farming, in order to earn in-game currency that is used to buy items. Although the game is designed to be a relaxing, whimsical experience, it seems this isn't...
While many TV shows—and even films—have been namedropping Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, there’s a key reason why they were mentioned in Billions.
The show’s creators revealed on Twitter today that Ben Mezrich, the author of Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption, was the co-writer of season five of Billions.
“Bitcoin on Billions! It’s beautiful, baby. :):):):)” Mezrich tweeted today.
This isn't the first time a cryptocurrency was featured on the show. In an earlier season, main character Axe offered to pay a trader $1 million in an unnamed cryptocurrency, and the popular Ledger Nano S hardware wallet has also been featured in the series.
In usual fashion, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao was quick to remark on the news, retweeting an earlier post made by Crypto Godfather to his more than half a million followers.
Billions joins the crowd
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have seen their discussion in popular culture climb in recent years, due in part to the publicity they receive thanks to their frequently volatile price action.
Back in March, Decrypt reported that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were featured in another popular Showtime show Altered Carbon.
Cryptocurrencies have also been featured on the big screen, including in Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, and Crypto—a movie that once again perpetuates the misconception that cryptocurrencies are mostly used to facilitate crime.
This press release was accurate at the time of posting at 8am ET. Since then, another film has reported $11,489 in sales for the 4/10 weekend. Usually sales numbers are reported within 24 hours; we were not expecting 8 days. We are investigating and communicating with press.
Beyond this, the documentary feature film Monero Means Money, which discusses the privacy coin Monero, hit theatres recently, temporarily becoming the number one cryptocurrency documentary film on IMDB and the number one box office film in the United States.
Although—with the coronavirus stopping the release of new films—this was largely due to a lack of competition.
Tips
Have a news tip or inside information on a crypto, blockchain, or Web3 project? Email us at: tips@decrypt.co.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Dubai's government will accept cryptocurrencies for payments, the finance department said on Monday.
After signing a memorandum of understanding with crypto exchange Crypto.com, Dubai Finance, which manages the city's budget, said it would accept digital assets for government fees. It did not specify which digital coins and tokens it plans to accept.
Dubai is considered a crypto-friendly city; the emirate last week hosted the Token2049 conference, and a number of digital asset companies are bas...
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has revealed that the crypto exchange considered putting 80% of its balance sheet into Bitcoin—but decided against it over fears it could "kill the company."
During a question-and-answer session with customers, executives were asked whether they missed an opportunity to start amassing BTC sooner, given the company had an eight-year headstart on software firm Strategy.
We’re live with @brian_armstrong, @GregTusar, and Alesia Haas answering community questions followi...
BitGo has secured regulatory approval from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, enabling the U.S. crypto custody provider to expand its services across the European Union's member countries.
The license positions BitGo as one of the first American digital asset firms to gain recognition under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, a unified regulatory system, rolling out crypto custody services for its institutional clients across the bloc this year.
BitGo has...
