Bitcoin has been a topic of hot conversation, since its introduction in 2008. But the blockchain ledger associated with bitcoin might be the digital future for emerging technologies, according to Alex Winter’s new documentary, ‘Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain’.
Winter and narrator Rosario Dawson turn the clocks back to the United States’ economic crash 2008 when the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto released an academic journal outlining Bitcoin and how it uses blockchain technology to solve the “Byzantine General’s Problem.” The documentary does a decent job at breaking down the main components of blockchain for viewers new to the concept.
Bitcoin, a famed form of cryptocurrency, operates on a decentralized ledger of transactions that operates across a variety of computer networks. This ledger is known as blockchain. According to Mark Jeffrey, an entrepreneur who based his start-up on the fundamental blockchain concept, blockchain is “a record of all the transactions, and it’s constructed in such a way that cheating is not possible.” In other words, corruption is eliminated by this decentralized technology.
The documentary follows the case of Lauri Love, a British hacker and activist, who was accused by the U.S. government for hacking and stealing classified government data. The U.S. attempted to extradite Love and threatened the young computer-wiz to face trial with a potential 99 years in U.S. prison.
Love’s predicament was a prime exemplification of Bitcoin’s reception. The emergence of Bitcoin coincided with the Silk Road scandals and assumed the cryptocurrency was intended for the illegal trade of drugs, people, and other illicit services/goods. But while the government and centralized banks felt threatened by the emergence of bitcoin, computer-science fanatics saw utopian possibilities for both Bitcoin and the blockchain technology it is built on.
The film effortlessly transitions around the half-way mark to highlight next-generation start-ups and inventions that extend the ledger and apply blockchain to an entire computer program. Blockchain applies to more than just cryptocurrencies; the film highlights blockchain technologies that extend to solar panel microgrids, which could power entire neighborhoods despite the threat of natural disasters, self-controlled identity platforms to combat identity theft and impersonation, and could even enable artists to reach success without ties to a label and to avoid financial implications associated with streaming platforms. Even UNICEF is exploring blockchain in order to provide official identification for refugees independent of their bureaucratic governments.
Although blockchain opens doors for entrepreneurs and individuals looking to reach financial stability in poor-ridden areas, Trust Machine acknowledges in its final moments that the crypto-world will need “some sort of regulation to survive.” The film does a phenomenal job as setting up the optimal benefits that blockchain could lead to, but not without support and empowerment from activists for major corporations and governmental powers to accept the emerging technologies.
Check out a trailer for the documentary below!