Winklevoss Biographer Writes Newest, BTC-Heavy Episode of ‘Billions‘

Published at: May 18, 2020

The world of cryptocurrencies figured prominently in the newest episode of the Showtime series Billions, which was broadcast on Sunday. The story revolved around a crypto mining scheme in a preparatory school. 

Notably, the episode was written by Ben Mezrich, the author of Bitcoin Billionaires. The book tells the story of the Winklevoss twins. Mezrich teased his participation via Twitter:

“Billions this Sunday night ... I’m not sayin’ there’s definitely gonna be some Bitcoin… I’m just saying I did happen to write the episode ... I mean, just sayin’...”

Mining farm inside the dorm of a school 

The plot told the story of Gordie Axelrod, the son of billionaire hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod, who was operating a Bitcoin (BTC) mining farm in the dormitory of his preparatory school. The principal accused him of damaging the electrical supply to the school.

As for the infrastructure Gordie set up inside his bedroom, the mining farm generated almost 24 kilowatts per hour. However, Axelrod’s son claimed that a surge knocked out the power, rather than the mining farm.

Cryptos featured throughout the series’s new season

This is not the first time that cryptocurrencies were featured in the new season of Billions.

Cointelegraph wrote about an earlier episode surrounding a group of cryptocurrency miners operating an illegal Bitcoin farm.

Tags
Related Posts
New Season of 'Billions' Opens With Bitcoin Mining Bust
Showtime released the first episode of the fifth season of financial drama series “Billions,” which opened with a Bitcoin mining bust. The new season, based on the life of the former New York District attorney Preet Bharara, began on May 3 with a plot revolving around a group of cryptocurrency miners operating an illegal Bitcoin (BTC) farm. Previous seasons talked about the world of the stock markets and legal disputes with hedge fund managers on Wall Street. Crypto enthusiasts may find the new episode more familiar Bitcoin’s intrinsic value discussion Chuck Rhoades, the attorney general of New York in the …
Adoption / May 4, 2020
Scientist Mines Bitcoin on Computer Model Used by Apollo Missions
An American computer scientist has managed to mine Bitcoin (BTC) on a 52-year-old Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC), British tech media outlet IT Pro reports on July 9. Ken Shirriff, a specialist in reverse engineering, has reportedly worked out a code that enabled him to mine Bitcoin on one of the first integrated circuit-based computers that were used to navigate the first moon landings by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the 1960s. As Shirriff wrote on his personal website, the machine on which he managed to integrate Bitcoin mining code is the world’s only remaining working AGC. With …
Adoption / July 9, 2019
Global Chip Supplier Expects Low Demand for Crypto Mining, Offsetting Q4 Revenue Growth
Major global chip manufacturing firm Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) predicts revenue growth in Q4, but expects a counterbalance due to the low demand for crypto mining hardware, Reuters reports Thursday, Oct. 18. TSMC, the world’s largest independent semiconductor foundry, forecasts “modest” revenue growth in the fourth quarter, mainly due to solid sales of high-end chips for premium smartphones. According to Reuters, TSMC is expecting Q4 revenue to increase to somewhere between $9.35 billion and $9.45 billion, as compared to $9.21 billion a year ago. However, the expected growth will be allegedly offset by the low sales of cryptocurrency mining equipment. …
Adoption / Oct. 18, 2018
Bitcoin is at a ‘tipping point’ in international trade, Citi says
The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), is at a defining moment in history, according to analysis from United States investment bank Citigroup. Bitcoin is now at a “tipping point” to either become the preferred currency for international trade or face a “speculative implosion,” Citi analysts reportedly said. According to a Reuters report Monday, Citi analysts are confident that Bitcoin is on the cusp of going mainstream. According to the report, Bitcoin’s tremendous potential has been fueled by recent big Bitcoin moves by companies like Tesla and Mastercard. Citi analysts wrote, “There are a host of risks and obstacles that stand …
Adoption / March 1, 2021
Fidelity-Backed Crypto Analytics Firm to Integrate Twitter-Based Crypto Sentiment Feed
Crypto analytics firm Coin Metrics partnered with Social Market Analytics (SMA) to collaborate on a feed of real-time sentiment towards cryptocurrency based on social media data, according to a press release on June 17. The new partnership intends to collect and analyze data posted by crypto community on social media in order to provide a new tool to help crypto traders to track social media sentiment data to build their portfolio strategies. The new product will initially target sentiment data solely on social media giant Twitter, Coin Metrics CEO Tim Rice confirmed to Cointelegraph, adding that the firms are currently …
Adoption / June 18, 2019