Even placed in the long river of human entertainment history, this is an unprecedented innovation.
Only when planted in the soil of Web 3 can sustainable entertainment works grow.
On August 17, a tweet titled 'Do you dare to bet with us?' on social network X directly set the cryptocurrency circle ablaze. In just three days, the clicks exceeded one million, and the comments section was filled with excitement. Everyone left their BSC addresses because from then on, each participant gained a new identity: a permanent cloud shareholder of the (Ethereum) short drama.
Strangely, what trended this time is not a coin skyrocketing or plummeting, but a short 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 film crew. In the video, the producer, director, all actors, and even the editors and voice actors appeared collectively, solemnly promising to give 10% of the shares to netizens who participate in retweeting and commenting.
This is extremely rare in the Web 3 industry, as anonymity and decentralization have been the previous perceptions of the cryptocurrency industry. This time, their real-name decentralization has evidently broken the cognitive boundaries of industry players. Willy, an operator from the compliant exchange Nivex in the United States, believes this is a major reason for the collective celebration.
From 'The Broken Villa by the Third Ring' to 'The Holy Land of the Coin Circle'
To get to the bottom of it, I traveled from Hong Kong to the film crew. An ordinary detached villa on the southwest third ring of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, with wild grass growing outside, looks like a place that could produce any 'epic masterpiece'.
But once inside, I realized it was a different world: the walls were covered with cryptocurrency stickers and entertainment track plans, and the room names were filled with martial arts spirit, such as 'Bright Top', 'Tianshan Tonglao', and 'Invincible East'. Even the restrooms didn’t escape — the signs for the male and female restrooms were replaced with a banana of Sun Yuchen and the logo of Solana.
In a word: this place is definitely a 'holy land of the coin circle' for cryptocurrency people to check in.
Shoot a drama that will never finish filming
The overall planner of this perpetual short drama, 'Li Er Chai Si', told me that when he first heard the term 'Ethereum' ten years ago, he felt it had an ancient flavor: 'It resembles an ancient workshop and sounds like the name of some martial arts faction.' So, in early 2024, after determining the creative direction, the team brainstormed every day and took two full years to build a grand blockchain Middle-earth world, a 'cryptocurrency version of the Wulin Waizhuan', using a costume drama format to tell the history, present, and future of blockchain and cryptocurrency. For this, the creative team even traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to consult with the famous screenwriter Ning Caishen, who created Wulin Waizhuan, and received his affirmation!
(Ning Caishen and Li Er Chai Si take a photo together)
'It’s both a martial arts drama and a light comedy; it can also include singing and dancing, knowledge quizzes, and even play truth or dare,' said the chief screenwriter Zhao Chui Meng with a mischievous smile. 'In this adult film, we’ve stuffed in every conceivable entertainment form.'
Even crazier is that this is a 'perpetual short drama'. This means there is no big finale, and it will not finish filming. The creative team intends to keep shooting for the rest of their lives. This is also a co-creation short drama. Li Er Chai Si said that our film planning, screenwriting, directing, and acting are not professional; it’s a grassroots team, but it is definitely not a makeshift one! Everyone is a practitioner in the industry, and being able to preach about blockchain brings a tremendous sense of achievement.
Everyone comes together, digs into their own pockets, and raises sponsorships. A group of people who love cryptocurrency culture come together; rather than a film crew, it's more like a hobby group.
In the drama, BTC Cong Er, once a beauty pageant champion, broke through by inviting netizens to read the Bitcoin white paper with her in bed. Now she voluntarily plays a 'crazy' character in the drama for free and shares her knowledge about cryptocurrency during the waiting time.
'Anyway, none of us are professionals, but as long as we put our hearts into it, if the audience feels it's not good, we will reshoot. We will keep shooting until the end of time.' The character He Yi, the owner of the Ethereum Tavern in the drama, said while preparing dinner for everyone. Web 3 He Yi is a dancer and physical education teacher who became a cryptocurrency enthusiast as early as 2018. She has now grown into a well-known KOL in the Web 3 track.
It is worth noting that the tall boy sitting in the corner of the villa singing karaoke plays 'The Killer' in the drama and just turned 18 this year. He was obsessed with trading coins during high school, losing a lot of money. Coming to this 'home', he wants to use his role in the drama to tell others to invest wisely, cherish life, and stay away from contracts.
What I felt was that this place resembles a family more, because they agreed to live and eat together forever, jointly nurturing this 'Ethereum' child. Due to their shared passion and values, I believe they are even more stable and long-term than most current families.
Web 3 version of the drama-watching experience
As for the broadcasting platform? The crew's PR Xiaolong gave a very 'Web 3' answer: 'It will not be launched on Web 2 platforms; it will be broadcasted on Web 3 short drama platforms. Viewers can mine while watching the drama.' This setup of watching while mining immediately made countless cryptocurrency enthusiasts' eyes light up. The million clicks on the tweet show the enthusiasm that everyone has to participate.
Currently planning to broadcast on the well-known Web 3 platform Twinkle, but due to the bold and radical content, the Twinkle platform still needs the completed film for review before confirming whether it can be aired.
A new species in the stage of barbaric growth
Now, with Bitcoin and Ethereum on the rise, the total market value of cryptocurrencies has already surpassed 4 trillion dollars. The industry is still in a phase of 'barbaric growth,' just like the wild grass outside the film crew's villa — tenacious, vigorous, and unstoppable.
The popularity of the (Ethereum) short drama illustrates a fact: the crypto world is no longer satisfied with the singular narrative of 'getting rich by trading coins'; people crave more diverse cultural expressions. They have just adapted the theme song of (The Legend of the Condor Heroes) (Iron Blood Danxin), and although they cannot sing, they expressed the feelings of contract players.
A short drama that hasn't officially aired yet can already gain popularity. This is not only an entertainment event in the cryptocurrency circle but also a signal of the Web 3 culture breaking boundaries: here, the era of flourishing diversity is truly about to arrive.
The perpetual costume short drama (Ethereum) might truly become the most dramatic footnote in the history of blockchain development. The reason I admire this 'grassroots team' so much is that last year's phenomenally popular cryptocurrency short drama (Rebirth: I Become a Big Shot in the Coin Circle) was also produced by this team.
In short, the perpetual costume short drama (Ethereum) has just begun, and it will never end.
Currently, the film crew is widely recruiting talented individuals. I even feel the urge to transform into a 'forceful person' to stay.
