Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain, Review

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain have been growing in profile and popularity, especially in the last 12 months, largely due to the unprecedented rise in price of Bitcoin. The biggest and most famous crypto token had recently gone past $55,000, and even though it has come down from those highs to be at around $47,000 currently, this is still a sharp rise from its price of around $5,000 a year ago. This has sparked the interest of many who had previously not paid much attention to cryptocurrencies, while large institutions and companies are also looking to get in on the act. All of this has combined to make crypto one of the biggest stories in the world of finance and technology, and this is likely to continue for some time, as crypto adoption continues to increase. Therefore, it is also important for people to be educated about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, with there being several movies and documentaries that have been released in the last few years which delve into various topics related to crypto. One of them is ‘Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain’, directed by Alex Winter, and it is an excellent example of keeping the topic relevant while also making it easy to understand for audiences.

Blockchain is the technology that sits behind cryptocurrencies - it is a distributed ledger, where transactions are split across multiple networks, which removes the need for centralized servers, thereby speeding up transactions, making them more difficult to hack, and therefore creating decentralization. This is the reason why cryptocurrency transactions are so rapid, and also have virtually no transaction costs, while also being safe and anonymous, all of which have proved to be attractive reasons for people to invest in crypto.


Blockchain is also now being used across various other sectors and industries to provide solutions to problems. These sectors range from shipping to data storage to even sports and gaming, while one of the areas where it has seen a lot of success is in the world of online gambling. Quite these new online crypto casino websites now offer users the option to play baccarat with bitcoin, as well as other casino table games, by placing bets through cryptocurrencies. These sites also use blockchain to support their games, which makes them safer and quicker, and also increases the players’ trust in the games since such games cannot be manipulated to provide an unfair advantage to the casino itself. Therefore, it is helping build trust in the online gambling space, while also improving players’ confidence in crypto itself, since the technology is still quite new and therefore not trusted by many people. Controversies such as the Silk Road scandals have not helped in this regard either, and the movie also looks at how cryptocurrencies are slowly making their way into mainstream finance by building trust and confidence in a similar manner.

Another topic that is closely followed by this documentary is the case of Lauri Love, a British activist who has been accused of stealing classified government data by the United States government. Through this case as well as that of the late Aaron Schwartz, Winter tries to demonstrate how existing power centers, such as governments, will always feel threatened by any new developments which take away some or all of their power, and so they will look to clamp down on them. This is being seen in the crypto space as well, where central banks, governments and leading financial institutions have been opposing crypto for quite some time, while also making plans to try and release their own digital currencies to provide competition. However, it is unfortunate that this is the prevailing attitude, since blockchain can provide solutions to a number of problems. It can help control energy grids, for example, or prevent identity theft, or reduce digital piracy by allowing users to pay artists directly for their content. These are just three ways, across diverse fields, where blockchain can play a major role in transforming the way things work, and the documentary paints this picture as well, making it a necessary watch for those interested in this space.