Netflix will release a limited series dramatizing the rise and fall of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its leaders, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and Caroline Ellison.
FTX Gets Hollywood Treatment With Julia Garner as Caroline Ellison in Netflix Series
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‘The Altruists’ to Explore $8B FTX Fraud with Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle
“The Altruists,” an eight-episode Netflix limited series produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, will chronicle the FTX financial scandal. New York Magazine/Vox Media Studios co-produces the project, which targets a late 2026 premiere.
According to Netflix, Julia Garner (“Ozark”) stars as Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, while Anthony Boyle portrays FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Showrunners and executive producers Graham Moore (“The Imitation Game”) and Jacqueline Hoyt (“The Leftovers”) will helm the series. James Ponsoldt directs the pilot.
The series centers on Bankman-Fried and Ellison as “hyper-smart, ambitious young idealists” whose attempt to revolutionize global finance culminated in an $8 billion fraud. Netflix’s official description states they “seduce each other into stealing” the funds. It will dissect their professional and personal dynamics, including their relationship and ethical unraveling.
In real life, Bankman-Fried received a 25-year prison sentence in 2024 for defrauding FTX customers and investors. Ellison, who cooperated with prosecutors, was sentenced to two years for her role. The November 2022 collapse of FTX triggered billions in losses, marking one of the decade’s largest financial frauds.
“The Altruists” joins Netflix’s slate of true-crime dramas, emphasizing character-driven storytelling and ethical ambiguities in tech entrepreneurship. Garner continues her trend of portraying real figures in financial crime stories, following her Emmy-winning role in “Inventing Anna.”
The series remains in production with no official release date confirmed. It aims to deliver a gripping account of ambition and downfall within the cryptocurrency world, drawing from extensive public records and legal proceedings.
