TLDR:
- Announcement: On May 30, 2025, Netflix announced an 8-episode series titled “The Altruists,” which will depict the rise and fall of FTX, focusing on Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison.
- Production Details: Produced by Higher Ground, founded by former U.S. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, the series stars Anthony Boyle as Sam Bankman-Fried and Julia Gardner as Caroline Ellison, with no specific filming or release date yet confirmed.
Netflix has unveiled plans for an 8-episode television series titled “The Altruists,” set to recount the dramatic rise and fall of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, centering on the key figures Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison. The announcement, made on May 30, 2025, marks another chapter in the ongoing narrative of one of the most significant scandals in the crypto industry.
“The Altruists” will be produced by Higher Ground, the production company established by former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama. The series aims to trace FTX’s journey from its inception to its catastrophic collapse, which resulted in the evaporation of over $8 billion in customer assets. This collapse, orchestrated under the direction of Sam Bankman-Fried, involved the misuse of customer funds for corporate purposes, leading to FTX’s bankruptcy in November 2022. The fallout not only devastated FTX’s customers but also triggered a broader market downturn in the crypto space during 2022-2023. Notably, Netflix itself appears on the list of FTX’s organizational creditors, adding a layer of irony to the production.
The series will feature Anthony Boyle portraying Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX and its sister investment fund Alameda Research, and Julia Gardner as Caroline Ellison, who served as CEO of Alameda Research and had a romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried. Ellison was instrumental in FTX’s early operations and later cooperated with authorities, which influenced her sentencing. As of the announcement, no specific filming schedule or release date has been set for “The Altruists.”
The backdrop to this series includes significant legal repercussions for the protagonists. Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years for the fraud, but had this reduced for good behavior to four years in 2024. Caroline Ellison, who cooperated and turned herself in, has been given two years, and her time has been reduced for good behavior too, this time by six months. FTX has meanwhile been paying restitution to customers since February 2025, with the vast majority being paid back 90-113% of their losses based upon the valuation in November 2022 and not their equivalent in today’s markets. May 30, 2025, is the second payment day for various groups of customers, retail and institution alike, with payouts totaling $5 billion.
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