Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko said that the Netflix FTX series fused three crypto founders into one person. By his account, the blend covers him, fellow co-founder Raj Gokal, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
He shared the remark on X hours after the first trailer dropped. Yet Netflix built the drama around Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, and no announced cast member plays a Solana or Ethereum founder.
The Netflix FTX Series Centers on 2 Insiders, Not Blockchain Founders
Netflix confirmed the cast in a post on X. Julia Garner plays Ellison, while Anthony Boyle portrays Bankman-Fried in The Altruists, which premieres November 19.
Graham Moore and Jacqueline Hoyt run the series. Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground serves as a producer, and the scripts draw on New York Magazine reporting.
Solana also has its own FTX history. Before 2022, FTX and its sister trading firm, Alameda Research, ranked among the network’s best-known backers.
Yakovenko did not say which character he meant. However, he opened his post by saying the result was worse than he had expected.
Meanwhile, the real Ellison has kept a low profile. She recently resurfaced in a quiet charity job under a different first name.
The title nods to effective altruism, a movement that urges people to earn money and give it away. Bankman-Fried publicly cast his career as a way to fund that cause.
In contrast, prosecutors said Alameda took about $8 billion in FTX customer funds.
Industry Veterans Brace for a Glossy Retelling
Other industry figures reacted to the Netflix FTX series in more personal terms. Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at crypto financial firm Galaxy, admitted he will likely enjoy the dramatization.
Yet Thorn also called the FTX collapse the worst experience he has ever had in markets.
His mixed feelings reflect a saga that has not ended. A New York court sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison in 2024. Now he has petitioned the Supreme Court to review his fraud conviction.
As a result, the Netflix FTX series arrives while the legal story stays open. From November 19, viewers can test Yakovenko’s claim for themselves.
FTX customers, however, had to wait until 2025 for their first repayments. Their claims were also valued at 2022 prices, even though crypto has climbed since then. For many of them, a glossy retelling of the collapse may be far harder to enjoy than for casual viewers.
