The Trade to become one of the first tokenised feature films

The film is based on the memoir of Bitcoin hedge fund talent Brandon Elsasser

Upcoming film project, The Trade, will be one of the first feature films to be tokenised, according to a press release yesterday. It was recently optioned for production by Los Angeles-based strategic design consultancy 10,001 and former Hollywood based production company storylab.

The film will be based on the 2020 memoir Once More Without Feeling by Bitcoin hedge fund talent Brandon Elsasser, who has also authored several articles on the cryptocurrency markets. The screenplay was adapted by screenwriter Jack Roberts who is best known for the TV series Dad, Inc and the indie film The Rock’n’Roll Dreams Of Duncan Christopher. The Trade will be executive produced by Elsasser and Roberts.

In a deviation from the memoir, the film will star a strong female lead navigating the sexist and cut-throat world of Wall Street. The story is a mix of financial thriller and romance, held together by witty characters.

Roberts explained, “In order to really navigate the underbelly of finance in a fresh way, it required a female lead, which is a departure from the book. She’ll give us a lens into both worlds the story explores in a way that few other perspectives can. It’s become a rather compelling design for our times.”

The Trade will be turned into a digital security that can be traded on the open market by San Francisco-based company Securitize. Securitize aims to modernise capital markets and is the first end to end digital platform registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to use blockchain technology for transfer agent services.

The Trade isn’t the first film project to make such an announcement however. Controversial legal drama Roe V. Wade revealed in October 2020 that financial services company LCX would provide blockchain services to support the issuance of a tokenised bond – the RVW token. Investors could use the token to profit from the film’s future earnings and RVW holders have a right to earn a fixed yield. Roe V. Wade producer Nick Loeb said at the time, “Tokenization via blockchain technology is democratizing investing and will revolutionize how Hollywood will engage with their audience.”

The Trade is working with investment group Chicago Media Angels and filming is expected to begin this autumn in Chicago.