FTX collapse gets screen adaptation in Netflix miniseries The Altruists
Obamas Higher Ground to produce Netflix miniseries about FTX collapse
Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, is developing a Netflix miniseries titled "The Altruists", centered around FTX executives Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison.
Netflix has greenlit the eight-episode limited series, which dramatizes the $8 billion collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the downfall of its co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
Produced by the Obamas' Higher Ground, "The Altruists" will explore the tension between effective altruism and escalating fraud at FTX.
According to CryptoSlate, the story will cover FTX’s meteoric rise to a $32 billion valuation in January 2022, the exposure of missing customer funds, and Bankman-Fried’s conviction in March 2024.
The show will also depict the brief romantic and professional partnership between SBF and Caroline Ellison—driven by a shared belief in effective altruism, even as fraud intensified.
Crypto audiences are already speculating: Will SBF be portrayed as a flawed idealist (as the title hints) or as a criminal mastermind obsessed with deceiving investors and retail crypto users?
Cast and crew
Anthony Boyle ("Masters of the Air") will portray Sam Bankman-Fried.
Julia Garner, a three-time Emmy winner (Ozark, Inventing Anna), will play Caroline Ellison.
The writing team is led by Oscar winner Graham Moore (The Imitation Game) and veteran showrunner Jacquline Hoyt (The Good Wife).
Pilot director James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) brings a character-driven storytelling style that suits the series' mix of boardroom tension and personal drama.
Filming will take place from July to October 2025 in Vancouver with scenes in Nassau, and the series is expected to premiere in 2026.
As we wrote, Phishing scams target FTX creditors as $5B repayment phase launches
