"Ethereum": A period short drama that will be filmed until the end of time.

This is an unprecedented innovation even when placed in the long history of human entertainment.

Only by planting in the soil of web 3 can sustainable entertainment works grow.

On August 17, a tweet titled "Do You Dare to Bet with Us" exploded in the crypto community on the social network X. In just three days, the views surpassed one million, and the comments section was filled with excitement. Everyone left their BSC addresses, as each participant now had a new identity: a permanent cloud shareholder of the short drama "Ethereum."

Strangely, what made it to the trending searches this time is not a cryptocurrency experiencing wild fluctuations, but a short historical drama related to blockchain content — "Ethereum."

The reason why netizens are enthusiastically participating is that they received a video invitation from all members of the production team, in which the producer, director, all actors, and even the editing and dubbing team appeared in a collective video, solemnly promising to allocate 10% of the shares to netizens who participate in reposting and commenting.

This is extremely rare in the web 3 industry, as anonymity and decentralization have been the conventional understanding of the crypto industry. Their real-name decentralization this time has clearly broken the cognitive boundaries of industry players. Willy, an operator from the U.S. compliance exchange Nivex, believes this is a major reason for the collective frenzy.

From "the broken villa on the third ring" to "the holy land of the crypto circle"

To get to the bottom of it, I personally visited the film crew in Hong Kong. An ordinary standalone villa on the southwest third ring road in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, surrounded by wild grass, looks nothing like a place where an "epic masterpiece" could be filmed.

As soon as I walked in, I discovered a whole new world inside: the walls were covered with stickers of cryptocurrencies and plans for entertainment tracks, and the names of the rooms were more and more reminiscent of the Jianghu culture, such as "Bright Summit," "Tianshan Tonglao," and "The Invincible East." Even the restrooms weren't spared—the signs for the men's and women's bathrooms were directly replaced with Sun Yuchen's banana and the Solana logo.

In a nutshell: This place is definitely a "holy land for the crypto community" for influencers.

Shoot a drama that will never be finished.

The chief planner of this perpetual short drama, "Li Er Chai Si," told the author that when he first heard the term "Ethereum" ten years ago, it felt quite archaic: "It resembles an ancient workshop and also sounds like the name of a martial arts sect from the rivers and lakes." Therefore, at the beginning of 2024, after determining the creative direction, the team brainstormed daily and spent two full years building a grand blockchain middle-earth world, a "cryptocurrency version of Wu Lin Wai Zhuan," using a costume drama format to narrate the history, present, and future of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. To achieve this, the creative team even traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to consult the famous screenwriter Ning Caishen, who created "Wu Lin Wai Zhuan," and received his approval!

(Ning Caishen and Li Er Chai Si photo together)

"It is both a martial arts drama and a light comedy, and it can also sing, dance, do knowledge quizzes, and even play Truth or Dare." The chief screenwriter Zhao Chui Meng said with a mischievous smile, "We have stuffed in every conceivable form of entertainment into this adult film."

What’s even crazier is that this is a "perpetual short drama." In other words, there’s no grand finale, and it won’t be wrapped up. The creative team intends to continue filming for the rest of their lives. This is also a co-creation short drama. As they say, our film planning, screenwriting, directing, and acting are not by professionals; it’s an amateur troupe, but it’s definitely not a makeshift setup! Everyone is a professional in the industry, and being able to preach about blockchain itself gives a huge sense of accomplishment.

Everyone came together, dug into their own pockets, and raised sponsorships together. A group of people passionate about cryptocurrency culture came together; rather than a film crew, it could be said to be an interest group.

In the play, the BTC Cong'er was once a beauty pageant champion, who broke into the limelight by inviting an online friend to read the Bitcoin white paper with her in bed. Now, she voluntarily plays the role of a "neurotic" character in the play for free. During the waiting time, she shares her knowledge about cryptocurrencies with everyone.

"Anyway, none of us are professionals, but as long as we put our hearts into it, if the audience doesn't like it, we'll reshoot. We'll shoot until the end of time." The character Aunt He, the owner of the Ethereum Restaurant, said while making dinner for everyone. Web 3 He Yi is a dancer and a physical awareness teacher, and has been a cryptocurrency enthusiast since 2018. She has now grown into a well-known KOL in the web 3 space.

It is worth noting that the tall boy sitting in the corner singing K in the villa, who plays the role of "Sha Po Lang" in the show, just turned 18 this year. He became obsessed with trading cryptocurrencies in high school and lost a lot of money. He came to this "home" to tell others through his character in the drama that investment should not be speculative, to cherish life, and to stay away from contracts.

What I feel is that this place is more like a family, as they have agreed to live and eat together forever, nurturing this child called "Ethereum" together. Because of their shared love and values, I believe they are even more stable and long-term than most families today.

Web 3 version of the binge-watching experience

As for the streaming platform? The production team's promotional representative gave a very "Web 3" answer: "It will not be launched on Web 2 platforms; it will be streamed on a Web 3 short drama platform. Viewers can mine while watching the show." This setting of watching and mining immediately captivated countless people in the crypto space. The enthusiasm for participation can be seen from the millions of clicks on the tweets.

Currently, it is planned to be broadcast on the well-known Web 3 platform Twinkle, but due to the bold and radical nature of the content, the Twinkle platform still needs to wait for the completed film to go through review before it can confirm whether it can be aired.

New species thriving in a wild growth.

Nowadays, Bitcoin and Ethereum are on the rise, and the total market value of cryptocurrencies has already surpassed 4 trillion dollars. The industry is still in a stage of "barbaric growth," much like the wild grass growing uncontrollably outside the villa where the crew is staying - tenacious, vigorous, and unstoppable.

The popularity of the short drama "Ethereum" illustrates a fact: the crypto world is no longer satisfied with the singular narrative of "getting rich by trading coins"; people yearn for more diverse cultural expressions. They have just adapted the theme song "Iron Blooded Heart" from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". Even though they can't sing it well, they still express the feelings of contract players.

A short drama that hasn't officially premiered yet is already gaining popularity. This is not only an entertainment event in the cryptocurrency circle but also a signal of Web 3 culture breaking through: a time where a hundred flowers bloom is truly on the horizon.

The perpetual historical drama "Ethereum" may indeed become the most dramatic footnote in the history of blockchain development. The reason I have great admiration for this "makeshift troupe" is that last year's phenomenal short drama in the crypto industry "Rebirth: I Become a Big Shot in the Coin Circle Again" was produced by this team.

In short, the perpetual period drama "Ethereum" has just begun, and it will never end.

The crew is currently seeking talented individuals. I even feel an urge to transform into a "pusher" and stay.