Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain

Lauri Love is at the center of this documentary, a technologist accused of threatening national security whose fight against extradition raises big questions about digital rights and state power. The film moves between courtroom drama and interviews with programmers, activists and entrepreneurs as it traces how blockchain, the encrypted ledger behind cryptocurrencies, has become polarizing. Banks and regulators react with alarm while humanitarian groups experiment with distributed ledgers for aid delivery. Through firsthand accounts and on-the-ground examples, the movie shows how a technical innovation can be cast as either dangerous speculation or a tool for social good, without revealing the final outcomes of the legal battles or the broader regulatory struggles.

Directed by Alex Winter and released in 2018, the documentary features Rosario Dawson as narrator and interviews with Imogen Heap, Lauri Love, Laura Shin and Vinay Gupta, adapting real-world developments in blockchain rather than a single source text.

Critics were mixed, reflected in its average score of 5.8 out of 10 from a small number of votes, with praise for its access to key figures and criticism for uneven pacing. Major themes include transparency versus privacy, decentralized power structures, the tension between activism and regulation, and ethical uses of new technology.

The film helped bring debates about blockchain into a wider public conversation, highlighting unexpected alliances like UNICEF's pilot projects and sparking discussion about how a technical ledger can affect refugees, aid delivery and financial inclusion. It surfaced in tech and policy circles as a reference point for skeptics and advocates alike.

Trust Machine had a limited theatrical run and played at festivals and specialty venues, reaching audiences mostly through independent distribution and streaming platforms rather than mainstream box office success. Its audience has been primarily people interested in technology, policy and digital civil liberties.