TL;DR Breakdown
- Netflix is set to create a Bitcoin docuseries about the couple that allegedly hacked Bitfinex in 2016
- Authorities arrested the two on February 8th.
Netflix made an announcement on Friday that it would be creating a Bitcoin docuseries to cover the story of Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein. This couple took part in the biggest cryptocurrency hack of Bitfinex about five years ago. About 120,000 BTC were stolen from the exchange, worth more than $5 billion in todayās Bitcoin market value.Ā
Authorities arrested the duo on February 8tgh, and they currently face charges of committing financial fraud. A post by the NYT explained that the couple used fake online identities and impersonation as tried to liquidate assets by purchasing NFTs and gold.Ā
Netflix to run a documentary on Bitfinex hack
In the announcement, the popular video streaming platform Netflix described the coupleās financial altercation as one of the most significant fintech crimes in the history of cryptocurrency and planned to produce a Bitcoin docuseries covering the story.
It is not yet clear how the production will be. However, the director will be Chris Smith. His portfolio in the documentary industry is extensive, with at least 5 docuseries under his belt, including Fyre, The Keepers, and 2019ās Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.Ā
Quadriga CX Bitcoin docuseries
This will not be the first Netflix documentary on Bitcoin money laundering. In September 2021, the streaming company also announced it would be working on a documentary about the Quadriga CX saga. The docuseries dubbed āTrust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto Kingā follows the story of the sudden death of Quadriga CX CEO Gerald Cotten and the collapse of the exchange.
His sudden death resulted in the loss of billions of dollars of investor funds. An incident that investors described as fake, and that Cotten only robbed them and faked his death. In the story, a team of investors becomes investigators who dig up facts about the suspicious death of the exchangeās CEO. However, the Bitcoin docuseries āTrust No Oneā has not been released and is set for release in 2022.
Besides the two, Netflix and most production companies have been working with top news headlines to create interesting content. After Covid-19, the creation of such stories received even more heat, with production teams choosing to utilize archival media footage.
Therefore, they did not have to shoot more and risk their health to the pandemic. Netflix has also been working on several fraud-related documentaries, including the Tinder Swindler, a story that follows the arrest of a guy in 2015 who would defraud women through online dating applications.
