One of our favourite channels on YouTube is Coffeezilla. This channel highlights suspected scams in the world of cryptocurrency while also educating users on what red flags to be on the lookout for if you’re dabbling in cryptocurrency or NFTs.
Should that sound interesting to you, may we direct your attention to the latest documentary on Netflix, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King.
The documentary tells the insane story behind QuadrigaCX, its founders and the suspicious death of one of them.
Before we get to the content of the documentary we have to comment on cinematography and editing. This being Netflix’s umpteenth original documentary it has seemingly developed a formula that works, but Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King looks more like a movie directed by Wes Anderson than a gritty documentary. The framing of certain scenes conveys tension wonderfully and the pace at which the story unfolds moves along nicely.
While it’s usually the content of these documentaries that hooks us in, it’s nice to see a bit more artistic flair in Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King.
When combined with the story being told, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King tells a story that even somebody who knows very little about cryptocurrency can follow easily.
In 2019 Gerald Cotten, a founder of Bitcoin exchange QuadrigaCX died in India while traveling and supposedly was the only person who had access to Quadriga’s cold wallets which were said to contain the funds users had deposited.
What follows is a story that has so many twists and turns we aren’t really sure what we believe about Cotten. Much like another Netflix documentary – Don’t Fu*k with Cats – Trust No One puts focus on the ordinary citizens who were impacted by these events and how they entered sleuth mode.
Many believed that reports of Cotten’s death were not real and that he may have fled and changed his identity when the jig was up. However, this is just one of many theories that couldn’t be backed up and we would have loved to see the interviewees commenting on how out of hand some of the conspiracy theories became.
The documentary also speaks to journalists from The Globe and Mail who followed this story and that really helps to not only add gravitas to the storytelling, but also shows that even with all the facts in front of you, the truth can be bizarre and somewhat unbelievable.
By the end of the documentary, however, the truth is revealed and unfortunately, the truth is rather boring and something of a let down.
What we hope Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King highlights is that cryptocurrency can be a risky investment and some nefarious individuals will use that risk as a cover for their illicit activities. The allure of crypto-millionaires and getting rich quickly is tempting but it’s also worth asking who is behind these exchanges and what they hope to gain.
While Bitcoin and cryptocurrency may not be grabbing headlines as it did in 2017, there are still people out there who are looking to separate you from your money through scams although these days the allure of getting in on the ground floor of the metaverse and NFTs are the carrot on the end of a wobbly, unstable stick.
Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King is streaming now on Netflix.
