Cryptocurrency just got some major mainstream exposure by being part of a storyline for Coronation Street, the popular UK soap opera.
One of the factors that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies need for greater adoption is more awareness by the public. This is where mainstream exposure via popular entertainment comes into play. While there are tons of sites (including Live Bitcoin News), social media forums, and YouTube channels promoting virtual currencies, nothing helps bring the crypto world to the masses better than movies, TV, and music. Crypto just gained a bunch of exposure in the UK through the insanely popular Coronation Street soap opera.
Coronation Street Dominates
For those unfamiliar with the show, Coronation Street is the longest-running soap opera in British history. It began back in 1960 and has over 9,500 episodes under its belt.
The show features a working-class neighborhood and features realistic storylines. (I became aware of the show as it was cited as one of the reasons why Doctor Who was canceled back in the 1980s.) The show draws in an average of 8 million viewers, which is just a shade under an eighth of the entire UK’s population.
The crypto storyline for Coronation Street features a common trope used in entertainment. The plot follows Ryan Conner, a former drug addict and habitual gambler. He’s also a DJ, and a recent episode found him blowing his gig money by gambling.
However, he remembers that he invested £50 in a cryptocurrency called Whipcoin (obviously a play on Bitcoin) a long time ago. He and a friend look up the coin and find that his initial investment is now worth £250 million.
The kicker (and tired trope) is that he cannot remember his password. They eventually find the password but then realize that their research was wrong. The investment had been worth hundreds of millions of pounds when the coin peaked, but it has since crashed (like most of the cryptocurrency market). The coin is now practically worth nothing.
Crypto in Pop Culture
Over the last couple of years, cryptocurrency has been popping up in a number of TV shows. One of the biggest was when Bitcoin was used as the plot for The Big Bang Theory, in which the gang looked for an old laptop that supposedly had bitcoins they had mined long ago on it.
Bitcoin has been referenced in quite a few TV shows. Almost Human (gone too soon!) mentioned the cryptocurrency in a few episodes. The Simpsons also features several episodes that have a crypto connection. Other TV shows that have incorporated cryptocurrency include House of Cards, Supernatural, The Good Wife, Silicon Valley, Family Guy, and Parks and Recreation.
Eminem gives Bitcoin a mention on Kamikaze, his latest album. Several other rap artists have included cryptocurrency in their lyrics. Then there’s the Virtual Currency Girls group from Japan, an all-girl group that promotes cryptocurrency to the masses through bubbly, upbeat songs and choreography.
Cryptocurrency is even hitting the big screen. A movie called Crypto is currently filming. The movie features Beau Knapp, Luke Hemsworth, Kurt Russell, and Alexis Bledel. The film is a thriller and focuses on another trope – using cryptocurrency for money laundering.
Still, the reality is that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are appearing more regularly in pop culture. This increased exposure is a good thing despite some of the FUD used to spice up the storyline.
Do you think that cryptocurrency being used in Coronation Street is a good thing? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Flickr/@Andrea_44, YouTube/@【12星座のアイドルグループ】星座百景, and Shutterstock.
