02x03 - My Money

[bunniefuu]

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[Knox] In the mornings,
I get on and I cam.

Show me what you've got, Jake.

You can do a $ a minute
where it's just you and I,

but other people can watch.

Oh, nice, Jake.

Oh, keep it up.

Or you can pay $ a minute
and just be the two of us.

Thank you for playing.

I say, "Goodbye"...

I hear the click...

I immediately go and check
to see how much I've made.

I get back in character...

[Sighs]

...refresh button, let's do this again.

[narrator]
Our lives revolve around money.

We earn it...

spend it...

lose it.

The government takes its cut...

while credit cards keep score.

Banks keep it safe...

or so we trust.

Our finances are supposed to be
within our control,

but are they?

Money is control...

...and whoever controls
the money controls us.

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[Knox] You know, I'm actually
shocked about the amount of men

that work all day and watch cam girls.

The pervs out there.

A lot of my day regulars are working.

So they kind of have me on mute

or they have me in the background,

and so I just chit chat.

[chuckles] I'm working, too.

[narrator] This is Allie Knox.

For the past two years,

she's turned to the Internet
to make a living.

[Knox] In the beginning,
I was just camming.

And when I started to see that
not match up with

where I wanted to be...

I went to other sources.

It became my business.

You want to buy dirty things?
How much? Fine.

I got all kinds of sh*t.

What would you like to have?

I'll sell shoes, socks...

bras, underwear, hair, Kleenexes...

...foot dust.

They can also order customs
from me where they direct.

They tell me what they want me to say,

what they want me to wear.

I sold one for $ last week.

They send me gift cards as payment.

A lot of people, they
don't want to have

MyFreeCams on their
credit-card statement,

but if they have Amazon, it's not weird.

It's not drawing a red
flag for their wife or...

their company credit card.

I started using PayPal when
Amazon started to limit me.

You know, there's only so many
pans you can have

or KIND bars you can have.

I need to pay my light bill,
I need to pay my phone bill.

And I need to pay it with cash.

For the very short time
that I used PayPal,

it was very important.

If I would have been
allowed to have it open,

it would be a very large
portion of my income.

I don't know how PayPal found out

that I was offering them
as a payment system...

...but I got an e-mail
from PayPal saying

that I had violated
their terms of service

because I was selling
sexual-oriented content

and I would not be able
to access the money

in my account or no longer be able

to have an account with PayPal.

It was kind of a slap in the face.

Like I'm not good enough
for you to make money off of?

I was discriminated against
because I am "a sex worker"

in the adult world.

I feel targeted.

I do so many low-level fun things...

...and you're still going to put
this scarlet letter on me

and, like, deem me
inappropriate or wrong?

You're a payment processor!

Who gave you this right?

[narrator] A solution
to Allie's money troubles

may exist thousands of miles away.

It's here that the idea
of money was first invented.

Instead of bartering
one thing for another,

you could use an object
of abstract value...

seashells, copper pieces, dollar bills.

Then, as now,
cost is dictated by desire.

In the remote regions
of Sichuan Province in China,

a new resource is being mined...

one that may reinvent or destroy money

as we know it.

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[cellphone rings]

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This is Dang Jil Yong.

He's a miner, stuck in the mountains

for weeks at a time
to provide for his family.

[cellphone rings]

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[conversing in Chinese]

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This is a new kind of mining,

not for gold or silver, but for Bitcoin.

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Bitcoin is a form of digital
cash used on the Internet.

It appeared online
as a monetary manifesto,

a complex algorithm

uploaded during the
financial crisis,

a time that dominated headlines.

Prices on Wall Street...

...inflation, rising unemployment...

No one knows for sure who created it,

an invisible hand that wanted
to disrupt a system

rife with corruption and human error.

One that puts the minting
and distribution of money

in the hands of the people
and their computers.

[Conover] Bitcoin is decentralized
digital cash, basically.

It's not physical...
you can never touch it.

[narrator] This is Dan Conover.

He's a programming entrepreneur
who traded a cushy job

with benefits for the brave
new world of Bitcoin.

[narrator] He's in it not just to
make money, but to remake money.

[Conover] I used to work at Amazon,

and I had someone there show me

a Bitcoin mining rig, essentially.

I didn't know what it was,
and I went home

and I researched
and researched and researched

all about this.

It was just some of, like,
the most perfect,

beautiful code I've ever seen.

[narrator] Bitcoin's beautiful code

is just a series of ones and zeros,

code that for a time

didn't have any meaning
or reason for existence.

Until someone ordered two large
pizzas with all the toppings.

[Conover] It didn't have a value
until the pizza transaction.

A guy was convinced

to deliver pizza for , Bitcoin.

That was the first transaction

that involved something that had value,

and that's when the price
of Bitcoin started going up.

[narrator] And it's been
going up ever since,

with a few dips along the way,
eventually reaching

a global worth of over $ billion.

[Conover] I actually
ended up leaving Amazon,

and I kind of just
dove headfirst into it.

That's where I met
my business partner, Sean.

This is stuff I put there...
that stuff's bad.

All right, where are
the good hash boards?

It's the love for the Bitcoin,
or the love for the technology,

that we decided to merge our forces

and become Hash the Planet

and try to take over
the Bitcoin-mining world.

Is that ?

[narrator] They run a mining
and hosting facility

where digital prospectors
can hook up their machines

to stake a claim in the Bitcoin boom.

Since its world debut,

Bitcoin has emerged as a rival
to the central banks.

Or maybe it's a solution in a time when

global financial disruption
splashes across headlines.

China continue to devalue
its currency, the Yuan.

[reporter] The British pound
is falling for a fourth day

since the Brexit vote.

[reporter] Protestors blocked
the proposed austerity measures

in this debt-ridden country.

I think a lot of people

don't trust their governments
around the world,

and I think people are
looking for an alternative.

It's money for the people,

by the people, and the people own it.

Obviously, there's going to be
a lot of people

that f*cking don't like it
because of that,

but that's why it's disrupting.

Bad board, can't fix,
bad board, won't ever work.

[Laughs] It's probably burnt.

I do think there's some hardcore junkies

that really want a world where
it's all digital currency,

but the majority of people use Bitcoin

as a way to make capital gains.

Making money.

But there's a few

that are using it
for illegal activities.

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[narrator] This is an admin for HANSA,

a marketplace
where you can buy anything

from dr*gs to stolen credit cards...

an Amazon for the underworld.

Encrypted or "crypto" currencies

like Bitcoin are the
coin of the realm here.

[admin] A buyer browses the market.

He selects the amount he wants to buy,

enters shipping information,

and gets directed to the payment page,

which displays the exact
Bitcoin amount he has to pay.

The buyer can then
optionally give feedback...

positive, neutral or negative.

The wider philosophy of HANSA Market

is creating a safe
environment to buy dr*gs.

We understand why governments
do not allow dr*gs,

but as with anything
that is not allowed...

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...period.

[narrator] The banks have the Fed,

but Bitcoin answers
only to an algorithm.

It has no CEO to arrest,
no code of ethics...

...and there are no terms of service.

My student loans were always
the number-one factor

for me getting into camming
and staying in camming.

I went to a liberal-arts school.

I got a BA,

and then immediately,
I got a Master's Degree.

- Are you ready to check out?
- I am.

When I graduated,
I was over $ , in debt.

- $ . .
- Thank you.

I started working in the real world,

and it was enough to pay my mortgage

and to pay my car,

but it wasn't enough to pay my loans.

And it was just, like,
a lot of sleepless nights of,

"Is this what my life is gonna be like?

I got to figure something out."

[keyboard clacking]

When I was in college,
I actually posed for Playboy,

and they had a website at the time,

which was a camming website.

So I started camming,

and then started making money...

Good morning!

...and realized, "This is my answer."

I do make customs.

I was in a cam room.

One guy said,
"Can I pay you in Bitcoin?"

Well, I thought it was bullshit,

"Fine whatever, let's,
like, walk me through."

So he walked me through and literally,

three minutes later,
he's sending me cash.

And then for you to send me money...

all of your money...

I can just show you my QR code.

You can just scan it
from your coin-based account...

and send it to me just like this.

[narrator] This is where
Allie's world collides

with miners around the world.

Imagine that a customer

wanted to buy a video
from her using Bitcoin.

That transaction gets
sent along to miners

like Dan in Washington,

to rigs in China overseen by Dang...

a global network of computers

that verify the buyer has Bitcoins

and that Allie wants them.

Once the transaction is legitimized,

she ends up with Bitcoins
in a Bitcoin wallet.

These can be traded
online for US dollars.

[Conover] So basically, everyone
is running the exact same code.

The miners are validating
transactions that are happening

within a -minute period,

and the first ones to validate
all the transactions

essentially receive a
reward of Bitcoin,

which is called a block.

[narrator] In other words,
the Bitcoin economy depends

on tens of thousands of processors

around the world to run its algorithm.

The operators of these processors

are paid by the same algorithm
in newly minted Bitcoin.

Someone dubbed the term "mining"

because there's only million coins

that will ever be released,

so it's essentially like
precious metal in the earth.

So you have to mine that to get it out.

There's only so much of it.

Power works fails to boot,

so this is most likely
just the BeagleBoard controller.

[Sighs] Heavy m*therf*ckers.

It definitely out as
some kind of a passion for me.

Now it's just driving
the business forward,

more money, more employees,
growth, growth, growth.

[narrator] But this enterprise

comes with a potentially massive cost...

one that impacts
more than just the wallet.

[Conover] These machines consume
an incredible amount of power.

[Sean] Right now, we're the equivalent

of to houses running full power.

When we're done with
our current buildout,

we could be between
, and , houses.

I mean, that's a whole town.

So, putting us here in Washington,

the hydroelectric definitely
gives us very cheap power.

[Conover] We're turning
water into money.

The water's converted to electricity,

the electricity is
converted into Bitcoin,

which is money.

[narrator] Miners are staking
claims around the world,

competing for the cheapest power

to run as many machines
as they can for greater profit.

[Conover] Our biggest
competitor is % China.

Their regulations are...

are almost nil, if there
are any regulations.

[narrator] This is Eric of HaoBTC.

He makes regular visits to this mine

and is always looking
for cheaper power sources

to fuel these massive centers
and hopefully expand.

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[Keypad beeps]

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While China may be supersized

compared to their American counterparts,

there's one thing
that they can't control...

...the weather.

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No water means no energy,

which means these machines won't run.

They'll have to move over units

several hours away to another facility.

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While HaoBTC's rigs are offline,

some other Bitcoin miner
somewhere is cashing in,

processing Allie's latest transaction

in her new enterprise
as a financial dominatrix.

[Knox] I think my clients
are interested in using Bitcoin

because it's safe for them,

specifically in financial domination.

I'm expecting everything out of you.

Every last drop.

Findom is actually financial domination.

It's a fetish,

all being driven by your
money, your loyalty.

Now, be a good little sl*ve.

It's complete control over your life,

your thought process.

f*cking payment.

They want to be crippled,
they want to be controlled.

That's all I want from you...

is your money and your gifts.

And they're tipping me as I'm...

doing this interview.

Because they want me
to think about them.

I'm going to crush you.

It feels really amazing
to have that kind of control

over someone, specifically financially,

and I can say that because...

something has had a control of
me, specifically my finances,

and it's been my debt.

I feel like I certainly
have more control with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin doesn't discriminate.

Bitcoin doesn't call me "high risk."

[Sean] With Bitcoin, I don't want to say

I feel any more secure

than the fact that I have,
you know, cash in my pocket.

If you take a dollar
and you hold a lighter up to it

and catch it on fire
and you burn it, it's gone.

If you lose the ability
to get into your Bitcoin wallet

or send your Bitcoin
to the wrong person,

well, it's pretty much gone.

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[narrator] Whatever the intentions

of its creator and adopters,

Bitcoin is high-risk and high-stakes.

But deep in its code are
several unbreakable rules...

one, that only million
coins will ever be mined,

and two, that the amount of coins

that can be mined at a time

will be halved roughly every four years.

[Sean] The halving could totally
affect our business operations

because our customers

are getting Bitcoin per block

at this moment in time,
and it's going to be / .

If the price of Bitcoin doesn't rise,

then they're going to be making half

of what they were making before.

[Conover] I see there's
gonna be three options

after the halving, basically.

Option one is the best option...

speculation drives the price way up.

Option two is woohoo, nothing happened.

Option three is the scary one...

what happens when a ton of machines

become non-profitable

and they just bulk unplug
and trigger huge selloffs?

And so that could just
drive the price way, way down.

I liken it to Y K.

There's a lot of thought
into what you could

potentially do to prepare for it,

but there's really nothing to do.

You're just gonna wait
for that to happen.

[Conover] Everyone's known about this

since the day that they started.

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[narrator] The Bitcoin network

has grown in ways nobody
could anticipate or regulate,

an algorithm running on
tens of thousands of machines

and counting, mutating into
an uncertain future.

[Conover] What was the
last difficulty change?

I'm not sure.

I'm just curious how many people
are gonna unplug.

Everything's being hammered right now.

Bitcoin's code is supposed to

make the currency stable, predictable,

but what happens next
is anybody's guess.

Yeah, it's still about the same.

- Is it?
- Yeah.

It's currently trending at $ , .

If miners unplug from
the network en masse,

transactions could freeze,
users could panic,

and the value of Bitcoin could plunge.

There's definitely a massive
selloff right now, look at that.

Where you think it's going to hit?

[Sean] I think it's going to t*nk down

to the fives and change and stay there.

That's my thought.

I'm concerned because
our business is %

directly reflected on the price of coin

and the profitability of our customers.

If they can grow, we can grow.

That's all there is to it.

Well, that's it, man.

[narrator] As the clock strikes zero,

it ushers in a new era for Bitcoin.

[Conover] Newly generated
coins, look. . .

We're good.

- And the price did not go up.
- Okay, so, one...

No, it didn't go up.

- It didn't crash.
- It kind of crashed.

It was trending at like ,
and now we're at .

So it's not the end of the world, but...

we'll see.

Even if Bitcoin passes
this test of its own making,

it faces greater challenges
beyond its control...

to win the trust of the people

or become crushed under the
weight of its own algorithm.

[Knox] I do learn a lot
by getting screwed,

and I think that I'm gonna
have to be screwed

to learn more about this.

And I don't even know
that it's possible to screw

or be screwed with a Bitcoin,

because when somebody asks me,
"Has your name gotten out?"

"Has your bank account failed?"
"Did you lose money?"

Answers to those kinds of questions

are gonna be what propels
people to use this.

But I do know that Bitcoin
is making things better for me.

Hi, Steve.

I started with over
$ , in student loans,

and next month will be

my two-year anniversary of camming.

I have K left.

[narrator] For the last century,

governments and the central
banks regulated money.

Today, it's an algorithm,

a code that has no known creator

and cannot be cancelled.

Tomorrow, dollars and coins
will go the way of seashells.

And in the network we'll trust.