A Netflix series based on the true-life account of Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, who were arrested this week on charges of conspiring to launder bitcoin is in the works, produced by the teams behind "Tiger King" and the Fyre Festival documentary "FYRE."

A new series will focus on the 2016 Bitfinex breach, one of the largest in Bitcoin history, and the subsequent conspiracy to launder around $4.5 billion in Bitcoin.

A federal official has seized $3.6 billion of the money alleged to have been stolen from Bitfinex. Authorities believe the two accused still have control of Bitcoins worth millions of dollars.

Lichtenstein and Morgan, two participants in a 2016 hack of Bitcoin's exchange, were arrested on Feb. 8, according to the New York Times. The two hackers allegedly compromised the exchange and stole nearly 120,000 Bitcoin assets. As the value of the stolen cryptocurrency grew to almost $5 billion, they allegedly developed fake identities and created online accounts to purchase physical assets.

As part of its interest in crypto-related stories, Netflix announced last year that it would release a movie in 2022 called "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King," about the QuadrigaCX exchange and its founder Gerald Cotten, who died while controlling the keys to user's wallet.

With subscribers often eager to switch streaming services when they finish watching the latest seasons of their favorites, streaming services such as Netflix and cable rivals are constantly coming up with new viral series.

Nick Bilton will direct and executive produce the new series alongside Chris Smith, who directed and executive produced the documentary "FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened" and served as producer on "Tiger King." 

Pavan A

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA