Apart from many other things, television has transformed cryptocurrency from an obscure technology into a mainstream punchline, with consequences far beyond its entertainment value. Famous American animated television show South Park’s latest episode continues the tradition of skewering digital assets, this time targeting prediction markets alongside regulators and politicians in its 27th season.
The show previously portrayed Bitcoin as both a future currency and a Ponzi scheme in a 2021 post-COVID special, while December 2021’s NFT episode depicted the craze as an infectious disease spreading mania about overnight riches. In the 2020 episode “Frinkcoin,” The Simpsons took a more educational and lighthearted approach, explaining the fundamentals of blockchain technology, focusing on clarity rather than satire.
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While many shows have dabbled in crypto, South Park draws directly from real-world crashes like Terra’s collapse, turning industry chaos into sharp satire. The show mocked Matt Damon’s “Fortune favours the brave” Crypto.com ad, which aired just before Bitcoin’s 2021 peak and aged poorly after the crash. Larry David’s FTX Super Bowl commercial met a similar fate, especially after founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years following the exchange’s 2022 collapse.
It seems that crypto’s rise has given TV plenty to work with and laugh at. Whether treated as the future of finance or a running gag, digital assets have firmly earned their place in pop culture. But one thing’s for sure: if the crypto world keeps spinning, the screenwriters won’t run out of material anytime soon.
