New Action Movie Features Billion Dollar Crypto Theft

Published at: July 8, 2020

Cryptocurrency has a starring role in a new casino heist action movie starring Adam Copeland, Denise Richards, and Kelsey Grammer that premieres later this week.

According to the trailer, Money Plane (out July 10) is about a former gambler who is pushed into stealing from an aircraft that’s “a bulletproof casino in the sky, untouchable by any government agency”. Grammer’s character says the plane carries “up to a billion on board in crypto and millions in cash.” 

While not identifying which coins are essential to the plot, a screen capture shows the Money Plane has at least $241 million in Bitcoin (BTC), $128 million in Ethereum (ETH), $70 million in Ripple (XRP), $13 million in Litecoin (LTC), and an undetermined amount of Iota (MIOTA). 

Screenshot from “Money Plane” trailer

Reactions from crypto community

Reddit user JokeOlantern said movies like Money Plane could help create greater visibility for digital assets, but questioned if it would “only show crypto associated with casinos and dangerous criminals.”

Others like user Micro56 had similar concerns around the disconnect between Hollywood and reality: “Media portrayals like this [are] almost a necessity for explaining new technology like crypto. I remember the ridiculous movie/TV scenes used to portray the internet back in the day.”

Though crypto hasn’t quite achieved mass adoption in 2020, it seems to be the year for tokens on the silver screen. Cointelegraph reported in June that Stampede Ventures would be producing a movie based on the best-selling book Bitcoin Billionaires, the story of Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss.

Tags
Technology
Bitcoin
Cryptocurrencies
Law
Crimes
Related Posts
Blockchain forensics is the trusted informant in crypto crime scene investigation
The seizure by the U.S. Department of Justice of $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) lost during the 2016 hack of Bitfinex’s cryptocurrency exchange has all the ingredients of a Hollywood film — eye-popping sums, colorful protagonists and crypto cloak-and-dagger — so much so that Netflix has already commissioned a docuseries. But, who are the unsung heroes in this action-packed thriller? Federal investigators from multiple agencies including the new National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team have painstakingly followed the money trail to assemble the case. The Feds also seized the Colonial Pipeline ransoms paid in crypto, making headlines last year. The Internal …
Technology / Feb. 26, 2022
Researchers question what ‘trustless’ actually means for blockchain
Crypto community members will likely be familiar with mantras such as “Don’t trust, verify!” or the “law of code.” Both refer to the promises of greater transparency and audibility via a technology that offers to replace fallible, corruptible powerful actors with a functional rules-based order secured through deterministic computation. The desire to dispense with the need to trust third-party actors is a mainstay with many cryptocurrency creators and users. Bitcoin (BTC), after all, was invented in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, and the abuse of authority by powerful actors and institutions continued to make itself felt throughout …
Decentralization / Oct. 27, 2020
California Governor Namedrops Bitcoin in Speech About ‘Extraordinarily Bad People’
California Governor Gavin Newsom warned the public against Bitcoin (BTC) fraudsters during his live speech about the coronavirus outbreak. On March 26, Newsom mentioned the leading cryptocurrency as part of his official speech about what measures had been taken by the state to prevent the further spread of the virus in California. Newsom went on raising the public’s awareness and understanding that “extraordinary people, who do extraordinary bad things,” are apparently taking advantage of the pandemic, and further explained: “That doesn’t just include an interface with the government, but people claiming that we need to send the equivalent of Bitcoin …
Technology / March 26, 2020
Former Hollywood Executive Admits to Embezzling $22M to Buy Crypto and Gamble
A former executive of a Hollywood-based digital marketing firm has admitted to embezzling $22 million from his employer to buy digital currency. The United States Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California announced on Nov. 22 that Dennis Blieden had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft. Blieden embezzled over $22 million from his employer and used the stolen funds to buy cryptocurrency, gamble and cover personal expenses. Abuse of authority At the time, Blieden served at StyleHaul Inc., a digital marketing agency that represents “influencers'' on social media platforms, as the controller and vice president of accounting …
Bitcoin / Nov. 25, 2019
Countries ignoring crypto AML rules risk placement on FATF's 'grey list' — Report
Countries failing to adhere to anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines for cryptocurrencies could find themselves added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF's) “grey list." According to a Nov. 7 report from Al Jazeera, sources say the global financial watchdog is planning to conduct annual checks to ensure countries are enforcing AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) rules on crypto providers. The grey list refers to the list of countries the FATF deems as “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring." The FATF says countries on this list have committed to resolving "strategic deficiencies" within agreed timeframes and are thus subject to increased monitoring. It …
Technology / Nov. 8, 2022