A new document about the first crypto company to go public

The new documentary about America’s leading crypto exchange is called COIN, but they might as well have called it BRIAN, after its CEO.

Why it’s important: Coinbase has taken the forefront of the crypto industry in the public imagination (much like Facebook is synonymous with social media). COIN – which is also the ticker symbol – appears to be its effort to get out in front of the criticism that has come with this position.

Driving the news: The new documentary about Coinbase is available for purchase on Amazon, Vimeo and iTunes today.

Details: COIN was directed by Greg Kohs, who has made a number of documentaries.

• Most notable here was 2017’s AlphaGo, about AI that won a board game.

The film tells the story of Coinbase, from when Armstrong was young and first got a computer, to the initial public offering in the spring of 2021.

• It hits several of the major milestones and controversies that Coinbase has faced over the years, such as when it acquired the company Neutrino, which employed several members of the controversial Hacking Team, and #DeleteCoinbase trended.
• It also pulls out a number of luminaries to give their take on Coinbase’s stories. People like tech thought leader Scott Galloway, Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff and Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin.
• NPR alum Jacob Goldstein, author of Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing, even looks early to make a compelling case that money is just something that enough people agree is money.

Yes, but: The true agenda of the film seems to be to warm viewers up to its real subject, Armstrong.

• It zooms in on Armstrong’s quirky side. His special way of moving, laughing and interacting with others. He eventually talks about not showing much emotion.
• It also focuses heavily on a couple of relationships. His parents get a ton of screen time, but the movie really want viewers to know this: Armstrong is still close with his co-founder, Fred Ehrsam.
• Ehrsam left the company in 2017, while remaining on the board. He now heads Paradigm, one of the biggest crypto funds out there.

Of the note: During the early days of the pandemic when Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States, Coinbase employees rioted when Armstrong refused to take a stand on the matter on behalf of the company.

• In September 2020, he published a blog post about that decision, called Coinbase is a mission-focused company.
• “I think if I were to do it again today, I probably would have acted earlier and I would have made it even clearer,” he says in the film.

With the numbers: COIN is available for $12.99 or approximately 0.000050 BTC at today’s prices.