Crypto Boy on Netflix: This movie offers three money lessons to everyone

No matter how many Bankman-Fried or Do Kwan are arrested for crypto fraud, our fascination with cryptocurrencies seems unabated. Netflix just released Crypto Boy, the story of a young man named Amir who gets involved with the promise of riches and discovers a fraud. A predictable story, considering how many real-life stories we know, but timely nonetheless.

This film takes us to Amsterdam and, as in all immigrant stories, we see Amir's father in his Mexican restaurant, surrounded by neighbors, watching football and discussing a very important question: should they accept the money offered by the promoter and move to a new city? place? Give way to gentrification?

Meanwhile, his 20-year-old son Amir sells Chinese beard growth oil to teenagers instead of delivering burritos to his father. Father and son share a love-hate relationship. The father wants his son to work hard because he has had to, and his son is tired of the daily struggle. He hands a burrito to a security guard at an event and stumbles into the world of Crypto. Amir's ability to speak fluently makes him part of the Crypto Bros, only to be let down by them.

Lesson 1: Dreams of financial independence are good, but be careful

Amir is so frustrated with his life as a burrito deliveryman with little to no money to spend, that a businessman's speech at an event easily converts him. The promise of "Don't waste your life to make money, make money work for you" is so attractive to a boy who works for tips and lives in his father's house that he becomes easy prey. He Suddenly he makes money and gets invited to a party with the crypto bros! He even argues with his father, who tells him that constant hard work is the only way to live.

You will also be tempted by the easy money, promise of incredible returns from crypto schemes and funds. But know that, like Amir, you'll initially see cash, but when you invest your life savings because you're sick of living the nine-to-five life, you'll be helpless when the fancy 'fund' offices are so empty. as your account and that you are a victim of fraud.

Not all schemes are riddled with fraud, but these are your savings. So throw caution to the wind, learn more, and be smart about loopholes. Be careful with soft operators.

Lesson 2: If a scheme seems too good to be true, it probably is

Amir is used by crypto bros as a money mule. He receives a call from the bank asking him why he had deposited forty-five thousand euros and then withdrawn them just as quickly. Amir is a simple boy. He doesn't realize that the bank account number he had shared with the Crypto company is being used to make the money disappear. He is assured that everything is fine.

Amir doesn't realize that his sales pitch has worked on a neighbor, Berta, who is equally fed up with being poor and has invested her life savings in the same Crypto app. Unbeknownst to anyone, Amir invests his father's emergency fund in the company when his father is hospitalized. Only when the Ponzi scheme is all over the news do Amir and Berta realize that they have been defrauded. The police come in to question Amir and realize that he too has been a victim of the pyramid scheme.

We think of ourselves as smart, but we let ourselves be fooled by the promise that we unknowingly involve friends and family in pyramid schemes. It is time to curb that enthusiasm and invest only in reputable financial institutions.

Lesson 3: The family eats free. recovering from fraud is never easy

Amir's father realizes that his son wants to enter the world of cryptocurrencies and money. He doesn't understand, but he tells his son, "I know you don't want to be part of my restaurant and make deliveries." You like working with that Crypto app. I have money saved, I use it to go to university, get an education and learn finance.'

But Amir already spent that money on cryptocurrencies and, knowing that he had been promised money, he even splurged to renovate his father's restaurant. Amir tries to get the money back from him, but a physical fight with the serial scammer only gives him a bloody nose... The neighbors pool money and Amir's father opens a new restaurant. The old "family eats free" rule still applies, and we see that Amir has learned his lesson and is helping.

Sometimes recoveries in real life are not as predictable as in the movies. That is why we must be very careful and adapt when members of our families make mistakes. We need to join them instead of rebuke them. Also, don't forget that you must cooperate with the authorities to hold criminals accountable.

crypto currency It is something new and unknown. It's easy to see very young men and women living in condos and spending money like water and be jealous of that lifestyle. But not everyone who delivers food at McDonalds becomes Zhao Changpeng. She studied more than most people and had to work hard too. Amir's story is a reflection of many real-life cryptotragedies and yet it gives us hope.

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveler and founder of Caferati, an online writers' forum that hosts Mumbai's oldest open mic and teaches advertising, film and communication. She can be contacted on Twitter at @manishalakhe.

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Updated: October 21, 2023, 12:56 pm IST