Eva (Melonie Diaz), another Tulip investor Billy met through subreddits, works out that Tulip’s founder, Charles Hegel (Josh Brener, from Silicon Valley), is not dead at all; in fact, he’s conveniently holed up in a mansion not far away.
Hoping to cash out enough to buy a house so he can gain better access to his daughter who lives with his bitter ex-wife (Zoe Winters from Succession), Billy is the proverbial this close to his goal when the currency suddenly tanks after reports of the sudden death of its founder.
No doubt kudos here should mostly be due to director Cutter Hodierne and screenwriter John Hibey, as well as their crew and cast, but it’s tempting to sense a light Soderberghian touch in Cold Wallet’s blackly comic look at how cryptocurrency eats the soul of all who meddle in its black arts.
Charismatic Raúl Castillo stars as protagonist Billy, a bit of a screw-up who is neck deep in a crypto called – tellingly for those aware of the history of bubble stocks – Tulip.
There’s a lot of nerd talk about passkeys, cold wallets and whatnot, but the film is to its credit much more interested in psychology rather than tech, and the fine lines between avarice, rage and impotence that make the capitalist world go round.
