Award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffmann takes beginners on a wide-ranging journey into the controversial and complex world of Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet (web3). With unrivaled access to some of the big brains and big egos who shape the industry and augmented by exclusive footage from his two feature documentaries you will get so much more than ‘a guy with a webcam showing slides’.

This is a visually stunning and non-technical 2 hours and 45 minutes beginner-level crypto crash course for everyone who wants to learn about the main narratives behind the controversial industry and the big ideas that are developing in its emerging ecosystem. If you, your finances, or your career might be impacted by Bitcoin or blockchain technology you will not regret taking this course.

Free Bonus: Two feature documentaries, produced over the span of 7 years and on 4 continents that have educated and entertained millions of people around the world.

Contents:

Chapter 1: History of Technological Innovations (5:47)

First, we start with looking at some other previous technological breakthrough inventions. When the automobile was invented how did the railroad barons react and how did regulation over-react? In the early days of the Internet, it was thought of as a dangerous playground for criminals and pornographers. What did the incumbent telecoms think of the threat? We meet the co-inventor of TCP/IP (The Internet) who has a story to tell. Then we explain how this all relates to Bitcoin.

Chapter 2: History of Money (14:37)

This is another look back at history. How did we get here using money that is created by Governments, not backed by anything?

Chapter 3: Money Creation (7:41)

We show some footage of Bitcoin: The End of Money As We Know It (2015), we now cover how our Dollars and Euros are actually created. This leads us straight into what makes Bitcoin such a revolutionary new concept.

Chapter 4: Bitcoin, the Basics (16:19)

How does Bitcoin work? Using simple language and graphics we now ‘dive into’ the blockchain with some nifty 3D animations visualizing the inner workings of how transactions are processed and stored in an immutable fashion.

Chapter 5: Bitcoin Maximalists (15:06)

Torsten’s film crew was granted exclusive access to the secret Bitcoin bunker that is rumoured to hold 10% of all of Bitcoins. We see this footage and explain why this scarce digital asset may have value for investors. Torsten provides some commentary about the ‘cult’ that is also called Bitcoin Maximalism. Torsten breaks down their big memes and main narratives and why they matter.

Chapter 6: Bitcoin’s Civil War and Bitcoin Cash (13:06)

A few years ago, there was a philosophical difference within the Bitcoin community which ultimately lead to a split into two separate blockchains. We explain why this mattered and how these two fundamentally different approaches relate to each other.

Chapter 7: Litecoin and Ethereum (6:16)

We finally expand from Bitcoin, the first and largest crypto currency to the two earliest and most important additions to the ecosystem. Torsten meets Charlie Lee, the inventor of Litecoin and Vitalik Buterin who conceptualize the ambitious platform Ethereum as a 17-year-old. How different are they from Bitcoin and why do they matter?

Chapter 8: Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) (6:31)

We revisit the crazy period in 2017/2018 where many crypto entrepreneurs became billionaires and many investors made and lost fortunes. Torsten explains how to think about investment opportunities in this space and why this new form of fundraising has many upsides, too.

Chapter 9: Decentralized Finance (DeFi) (9:25)

The latest and maybe most important buzzword in the industry. We learn about the promise of DeFi and discuss several big ideas and case studies. It is a major trend that everyone should be aware of and understand why blockchain technology is behind much of the innovation that is currently disruption finance and FinTech.

Chapter 10: Scams (7:51)

This chapter was added without a script because still today thousands of owners of crypto currencies get scammed out of their coins on a regular basis. Torsten breaks down some common tactics used by scammers and lays out some general rules of caution and how to protect your crypto assets.

Chapter 11: Private Chains (17:44)

We recruit the help of Dr. Oliver Krause from Untitled INC, a leading expert in the initiatives big corporations are currently spearheading. We learn the pros and cons about public vs private chains and Oliver introduces the concept of hybrid solutions, that are seldomly covered in the press.

Chapter 12: Tokenization (6:24)

We learn how the blockchain can be used to store other digital or physical assets and make them tradeable. Why is this such a big deal and what are the main developments in the industry? Torsten goes through the main trends using non-technical language and easy to understand examples.

Chapter 13: Stablecoins (5:37)

A recent development has been the development of stable coins. What are they and why do they matter? We discuss some of the main benefits of this unique category of crypto currencies in layman’s terms.

Chapter 14: Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) (8:10)

One of the most discussed trends at the moment is the move by central banks to issue their own crypto currencies in the form of digitized representations of their national currencies. Why is this such a big deal and what does this mean for monetary policy? Without getting too much into the weeds, Torsten breaks down the main ideas and motivations by Governments behind this current trend.

Chapter 15: Web 3.0 (13:40)

What started out as disrupting money and what lead us to a ton of other financial innovation is now taking on the big tech giants. Torsten shows footage from his award-winning cinema documentary #CryptopiaFilm (2020) to show how the blockchain may actually be instrumental in decentralizing the Internet and how it could potentially empower the users, us, to have more control of our data and privacy.

Chapter 16: Conclusion and Sources (11:06)

We conclude this beginner-level crypto crash course by summarizing the main narratives we have covered. Torsten also gives recommendation of where to look for more content about the topic from the sources that he trusts most.