Netflix is bringing the collapse of FTX to television with The Altruists, an eight-episode limited series centered on Sam Bankman-Fried and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison.
The streaming company released the first full trailer on October 8 and set November 19 for the global premiere. All eight episodes will become available on the same day.
Anthony Boyle plays Bankman-Fried, while Julia Garner takes the role of Ellison. The series follows their personal relationship alongside the rise of FTX and Alameda Research, the movement of billions of dollars through the companies and the fraud that ultimately brought the crypto empire down.
FTX’s Inner Circle Gets the Netflix Treatment
The production goes well beyond Bankman-Fried and Ellison. Karan Soni plays former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh, Eugene Young portrays co-founder Gary Wang, Alex Lawther appears as former Alameda co-CEO Sam Trabucco and Matt Rife plays former FTX executive Ryan Salame.
Terry Chen also appears as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, whose exchange became closely connected to FTX’s final days after Binance moved to sell its FTT holdings and briefly entered an agreement to acquire FTX before abandoning the deal.
The Altruists was created by Graham Moore, who serves as co-showrunner, writer and executive producer alongside Jacqueline Hoyt. James Ponsoldt directed the first episode, while the production is inspired by reporting from New York Magazine.
Netflix’s drama focuses heavily on the relationship between Bankman-Fried and Ellison rather than presenting the FTX collapse solely as a corporate or courtroom story. The trailer moves between their early ambitions, FTX’s rapid expansion, the Bahamas operation and the unraveling of the exchange as the scale of its financial problems becomes apparent.
Bankman-Fried’s Conviction Remains in Place
The real criminal case has already produced final convictions and prison sentences.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in March 2024 after a jury convicted him on seven fraud and conspiracy counts. Prosecutors established that billions of dollars belonging to FTX customers were diverted to Alameda Research and used for investments, political contributions, loan repayments and other expenditures.
His attempt to overturn the conviction failed in June 2026, leaving the 25-year sentence intact.
Ellison took a different path after FTX collapsed. She pleaded guilty to seven criminal charges in December 2022 and became one of the government’s central cooperating witnesses against Bankman-Fried.
Her regulatory cases have also continued moving toward closure. The CFTC ended its civil case against Ellison in August, imposing a five-year trading ban and a 10-year registration ban.
FTX’s collapse remains active financially as well as culturally. The bankruptcy estate has continued distributing recovered assets to creditors, while Netflix will now bring a dramatized version of the people behind the exchange to a global audience on November 19.
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