The Highest of Stakes

The Satoshi Mystery: At the Origins of Bitcoin

November 2021 •French

In the age of the Internet, "cypherpunks" tried to create an anonymous, autonomous, free and direct digital currency that worked without intermediaries. Many failed - but not Satoshi Nakamoto. In the middle of the subprime mortgage crisis, he was the first to publish the code for Bitcoin

The Chinese Are Coming to Town

February 2011 •Swedish

The Chinese global machine has been invited to revitalise the ailing Swedish town of Kalmar. The town's mayor has invited a Chinese company to build a trade centre and 300 homes, but all does not go to plan. An amusing and deeply relevant film, which shows the fault lines that emerge when the tigers of the developing world try to expand into Europe.

Cryptomonnaies : mon incroyable odyssée

January 2021 •French

My Film with Andrei, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Document a Sex Party.

November 2021 •English

A crypto-trader and an ex-clergyman travel to Berlin to throw a sex party. Filmmaker Ayoto Ataraxia documents them and their sex-positive community with a phone during the week leading up to the event, discussing sex and life. But will they cum?

Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King

March 2022 •English

When the young founder of a collapsing cryptocurrency exchange dies unexpectedly, irate investors suspect there's more to his death than meets the eye.

The China Hustle

March 2018 •English

An unsettling and eye-opening Wall Street horror story about Chinese companies, the American stock market, and the opportunistic greed behind the biggest heist you've never heard of.

The Bitcoin Phenomenon

January 2014 •English

In 2008, an anonymous idealist published a paper under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto which described a digital currency or online payment system; the system was introduced as open-source software in 2009. Four years later, the value of all bitcoins was in the billions of dollars. Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; the management of transactions and the issuance of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Because bitcoin is public by design, it is not owned or controlled by any government or bank.

The Stormtrooper Scandal

June 2024 •English

A tale of ambition, greed and speculation on the art world’s digital frontier, as a get-rich-quick scheme spirals out of control. Told by those at the heart of the drama.

Queen of Crypto

September 2023 •English

She promised a new future with her revolutionary new crypto currency. But her $4 billion empire was all a fraud, milking investors, and sending her on the run as a global fugitive.

The American Question

October 2024 •English

An 8-year journey into divided America, The American Question examines the insidious roots of polarization and distrust through past the past and present, revealing how communities can restore trust in each other to unite our country.

Cryptoqueen: The OneCoin Scam

October 2022 •German

When, in 2014, the charismatic German-Bulgarian Ruja Ignatova introduced OneCoin, a new cryptocurrency, she claimed that it was destined to become the world's most important digital currency and would change the course of history.

WORLD WAR CYBER

November 2022 •Ukrainian

In 2022 Ukraine has become the proving ground for an arsenal of contemporary cyber warfare techniques from mobile applications, drones and satellites to bringing forth a shift in the economy of war through cryptocurrency. With civilians playing an active role in this war and enlisting in the so-called digital army, we have entered a gray zone of what constitutes a civilian and an active combatant. The “cyberwar” in Ukraine hasn‘t always been front and center in the news, but it‘s one of the things that might directly impact the West and the nature of future conflicts.

Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery

October 2024 •English

A deep dive into one of the most enduring and high-stakes mysteries in technology and finance: the origins of Bitcoin and the identity of its anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Hunting the Catfish Crime Gang

October 2023 •English

Having posted his life on social media, James Blakes' identity is stolen and used in fake crypto investments. In a fight to get his identity back, he uncovers a world of organised crime exploiting slave labour to run their scams.

RUIN: Money, Ego and Deception at FTX

October 2023 •English

RUIN is a feature documentary about Sam Bankman-Fried and the stunning collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, as narrated by Bloomberg journalists and some of the central players in the rise of digital assets.

Dead Man's Switch: A Crypto Mystery

April 2021 •English

A riveting cryptocurrency thriller unravels the story of a Canadian blockchain wizard who mysteriously died on his honeymoon in India and the fate of his investors' $200 million. Did it vanish into the digital void or does it remain locked away in password-protected accounts?

Ulterior States

June 2015 •English

The film took three years and 125 videos to complete. Through this journey, I got immersed in the decentralised crypto-currency culture and met a bunch of wonderful futuristic-pirates, I would have never met otherwise. It is becoming easier to admit that Ulterior States is an expression of my perceptions, an extract of the years 2012-2015. The collaged story explores code as activism and discovers a melting pot through the neutrality of a decentralised consensus. It looks to the future from different humanist perspectives and argues that crypto-currencies could lead towards; community governed micro-state applications.

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains & the Future of the Internet

December 2020 •English

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet takes a deep dive into the crypto ecosystem and blockchain technology to discover the good, the bad and the ugly of this controversial industry, its major narratives, conflicts and the major players behind it. Can blockchain technology be used to create a new, fairer, decentralised and uncensored web3.0 where we can control our data and protect our online identities? Or will the potential be squandered as mega corporations once again compete for dominance in this new field. With his unrivalled and exclusive access, award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffman (Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It) takes us on a journey into the heart of this brave new world.

Bitconned

January 2024 •English

In this true-crime documentary, three guys exploit the freewheeling cryptocurrency market to scam millions from investors and bankroll lavish lifestyles.

Bitcoin: Beyond the Bubble

May 2018 •English

If the notion of bitcoin intrigues you, yet you find yourself intimidated by the complicated techno-jargon surrounding it, then the documentary "Bitcoin: Beyond the Bubble" is for you. This incisive overview explains the intricacies of the cryptocurrency in an engrossing and easily digestible manner.