How Bitcoin Will Revolutionize The Film Industry w/ Ali Webb and Carlos Flores
Think Bitcoin Podcast Ep. #8
This week on the Think Bitcoin Podcast, I sat down with Ali Webb and Carlos Flores, co-founders of Whitepaper Studio.
They’re building one of the coolest projects in bitcoin right now and bringing something genuinely new to the ecosystem: a way to finance films using Bitcoin-backed bonds. Their model aims to take short-term financial pressure off artists and free them from purely commercial constraints, while still providing investors with fixed yield. All enabled by Bitcoin.
For those of us who believe deeply that Bitcoin will have cultural consequences far beyond finance, their story is an early glimpse of that future.
🎧 Listen to the full episode:
[Spotify] | [Apple Podcasts] | [YouTube] | [Fountain]
From Film School to Building a Bitcoin Treasury
Both Ali and Carlos came up through film school and the post-production world and even co-founded a post-production company (Forager) together. When the COVID crash hit in early 2020, Carlos stumbled across Preston Pysh’s Bitcoin thesis and persuaded Ali to put some of Forager’s corporate profits into Bitcoin.
“We didn’t even know the implications of putting some of our free cash flows into Bitcoin, but we just kind of did it because it made sense… just trying to preserve some of the work that we have put into the company.” — Carlos
That experiment — front-running Michael Saylor in their own small way — laid the foundation for what would become Whitepaper Studio.
Why Whitepaper?
The pair saw creative opportunities drying up in advertising post-COVID, compounded by strikes, AI disruption, and broader economic slowdown. They wanted a way to keep artists engaged, funded, and free to take risks.
Instead of selling their Bitcoin, they decided to leverage it. Whitepaper was born:
“We can do a raise and back it with Bitcoin but be able to repay it in USD… And then we thought, why not make this possible for independent film?” — Ali
They’ve now designed what they call “creative bonds,” which are Bitcoin-backed fixed income products tied to films. The structure is intentionally long-duration (five years), allowing Bitcoin’s historic four-year cycle to play out. Investors get fixed yield, while artists are freed from the crushing demand to make their work commercially viable from day one.
Art Between the Gift and Market Economies
One of the most compelling themes of our conversation was the tension between art and commerce. I mentioned Lewis Hyde’s idea that art exists between two economies: the gift economy (where creativity feels like an emanation, a transmission) and the market economy (where it becomes product).
Carlos put it well:
“Film is maybe the ultimate example… It’s still a very resource-heavy craft, unlike other art forms. So there’s always going to be that battle between the money and the vision.”
By introducing a Bitcoin-backed floor, Whitepaper hopes to ease that battle, allowing films to exist closer to the gift side of the spectrum without ignoring the realities of funding.
Early Projects and Long-Term Vision
Whitepaper is already financing three proof-of-concept short films, two in post-production and one shooting soon. They’re also in talks on features, aiming to balance early talent showcases with larger investments.
Their long-term vision is to grow alongside Bitcoin:
“Ideally, our treasury holdings grow exponentially because they’re all in Bitcoin. And as an effect of that, the projects that we can back get even larger as well.” — Carlos
Beyond “Bitcoin Films”
Ali and Carlos are clear: this isn’t about making movies about Bitcoin. Not that they’re against that. But it’s about using Bitcoin to empower artists.
“We need something that we can send out into the world and have people look at and go, that was really cool… and then to learn that it was made possible with Bitcoin. That in itself is a marketing tool.” — Ali
That philosophy resonates deeply. Bitcoin shouldn’t just be a subject of art. It should enable, empower, and catalyze art.
Film Recommendations from Filmmakers
I always ask guests for recommendations to broaden the Bitcoin cultural palette. Here are a few highlights from Ali and Carlos’ list of favorite films:
It’s a Wonderful Life (Capra)
School of Rock (Linklater)
Coraline (Selick)
Pulp Fiction (Tarantino)
Y Tu Mamá También (Cuarón)
Amadeus (Forman)
No Country for Old Men (Coens)
The Wrestler (Aronofsky)
Plenty here for your next movie night.
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See you next time,
Logan