On January 6, 2017, Gravitas Ventures released 'Banking on Bitcoin', a feature documentary that dives into the early days of cryptocurrency through the eyes of pioneers like Charlie Shrem, Barry Silbert, Erik Voorhees, and Nathaniel Popper. Director Christopher Cannucciari sat down with Bitcoin.com to reveal the motivations and hurdles behind the film.
“Set to Change the World”
When asked why he chose to make a Bitcoin film, Cannucciari explained: “Bitcoin is an open-source project, so everyone brings what they can. I can't code. I hoped to bring what I could with filmmaking to a wider audience who may have heard about Mt. Gox, Charlie Shrem, and Silk Road.” He emphasized the film doesn‘t shy away from the darker chapters but aims to provide context. “Maybe they were judged harshly or maybe these things are necessary for something to grow. You have to take the good with the bad.”
Cannucciari first encountered Bitcoin in 2013 as a complete outsider, but his interest in alternative currencies dated back to 2008 when he filmed a short documentary in Africa. During political turmoil, banks closed and people traded phone credits instead of money. “That was a novel idea. When Bitcoin rose in 2012-2013, I watched keenly to see if it could be the next step in the evolution of money. I think it is. I was attracted to the idea of emailable money.”
The Amazing Bitcoin Community
What stood out most during filming? “The community behind getting Bitcoin into the mainstream has been amazing. Cypherpunks in the nineties had this idea of cryptocurrency, but it really took an upswell of the Bitcoin community to put it on the map. That was awesome to see.”
No End Point to Bitcoin
The hardest part of making the film, Cannucciari noted, was deciding when to stop. “There is no end point to Bitcoin. For me, the film became about the early Bitcoin utopians and programmers thinking Bitcoin could take power away from banks. The response from national governments and banks became a central question. New York's BitLicense regulation was a moment where I thought 'This could be the heart of the story.' Was it good to regulate Bitcoin early on or let it grow?”
Another challenge was visualizing a digital, non-physical currency. “Film is a visual medium. We didn't want to put up graphics of casascius coins endlessly, especially with talented Molly Schwartz doing lead animation.” The result is a documentary that captures the ideological battles and human stories behind the world's first cryptocurrency, offering a timeless perspective even years after its release.