Most modern technological marvels make their way into mainstream media, but a select few are influential enough to feature on some our favourite TV shows.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are no exception, having captured the imagination of millions around the world during a breakout period in 2017.
Primarily driven by Bitcoin’s astronomical boom in value[1] as the year drew to a close, people from all walks from life had either heard about Bitcoin or were actively looking[2] to get involved.
With mainstream media headlines came all the fanfare with it, and popular TV show writers weren’t about to be left behind. This led to Bitcoin being covered by famous comedians Ellen Degeneres as well as John Oliver[3] on their respective shows.
Both comedians gave satirical takes on Bitcoin. While these should be taken with a pinch of salt, both celebrities reach millions of viewers on their shows, meaning whatever perception is portrayed has the chance of influencing a significant number of people.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have also featured in popular TV shows over the last few years, with Big Bang Theory[4] being a notable series to have talked about Bitcoin. Following in their footsteps, some of the narrative of Silicon Valley’s season 5 is heavily centred around the topic.
Silicon Valley - a show about tech startups
For those unfamiliar with the show, Silicon Valley is centred around the lives of five programmers and a startup company based in Silicon Valley, California. If you’re a fan of the show, and haven’t watched season 5, this is an official spoiler alert!
The star of the show Richard Hendricks creates an app known as Pied Piper which is a data compression platform. The show ebbs and flows between projects
