About this project
$72,995
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You can also back this film in bitcoin at LifeOnBitcoin.com
See What the Press Say:
DailyMail.co.uk — “[the] Bitcoin Newlyweds”
Bloomberg TV — "it is a brave new world"
FastCompany — "It’s debatably possible to live on Bitcoin in tech-heavy cities like New York and San Francisco. But Provo, Utah?"
PandoDaily — “It’s an ambitious project with more unknowns than knowns.”
ABC4 — “The fact most people don't know about Bitcoin or actual accept it, provides some challenges.”
Memeburn — "This is pretty interesting... [it] recalls some early experiments in the 1990s and early 2000s where people tried to survive only on stuff they could buy online."
Deseret News — “Can a soon-to-be married couple live their first 90 days of wedded bliss using virtual currency? That's what Austin Craig and Beccy Bingham want to find out.“
UPDATE: We started this project because our team has the experience and the talent to make an incredible film that bridges the gap between bitcoin community and the real world. This is NOT some stunt to provide for our living. All of the Kickstarter funds are going to be used to produce a beautiful feature length film that will be entered into film festivals and possibly even in theaters. Beccy and I both have very successful professional lives and we have absolutely no need to live on bitcoin or get a “free vacation”. We even risk loosing our jobs if our employers refuse to pay us in bitcoin.
Can a newly married couple survive when every living necessity can only be purchased with "cryptocurrency"?
Right now, you can buy anything online from soap to illegal drugs with bitcoin—you can date online, setup a Wordpress blog, buy bee-keeping equipment, or even buy gold. It's come a long way, but could you survive using just bitcoin in the REAL world? We're going to find out! (what is bitcoin?)
When we get off the plane after our honeymoon, the adventure begins. We will hand our credit cards, cell phones, and cash over to the film crew and from then on, for at least the next three months, we will ONLY USE BITCOIN. Period. We have posted our living rules publicly so that you can be 100% certain we will live by them.
To see how far this experiment can go, we've established some goals, with each level taking the project further.
1 - Live on Bitcoin at Home
The baseline for our project and documentary is for everyday necessities to be found and bought using bitcoin. That includes:
- Furniture
- Groceries
- Cell phone
- Internet
- Rent
- Restaurants
- Medical
- Life Insurance
- Everything else we might need, from chewing gum to a plumber
This also means no cutting corners. If we need anything, there's only one way we buy it: bitcoin.
2 - Get Paid in Bitcoin
As creative professionals, we often freelance projects for a variety of clients. We'll find out if our clients are willing to make the jump to paying in bitcoin, just as we'll pay anybody we hire with bitcoin.
3 - Road Trip
We think the project will get even more interesting if we leave home, away from supportive friends and family. When we're buying from complete strangers, will bitcoin keep us from starving or being stranded?
We'll try to do the following:
- Buy a reliable but cheap car with bitcoin
- Travel at least 600 miles each way
- Pay for gas (even if we have to barter with farmers)
- Find car insurance
- Stay in hotels (or camp if we can't find hotels)
4 - Travel to Another Country
We want to see how far our life on bitcoin can go, literally and figuratively. We'll travel to another country where enough businesses and individuals have shown support for bitcoin. If you own a small business and are willing to accept bitcoin, go to LifeonBitcoin.com/Local and tell us!
5 - Cross an Ocean
If we reach our top stretch goal of $150,000 to cover the costs of the filmmakers, so that they can accompany us and document every mile traveled, we'll find a way across an ocean, whether by boat or by plane. Bitcoin is a global movement with enthusiasts and entrepreneurs all over the world. We are ready to come see you!
Other Documentary Goals
This documentary will be interwoven with some of the rich and intriguing history surrounding bitcoin. Our vlogs and other social media content will feature interviews with leading personalities in the world of bitcoin, and with skeptics of this nascent digital currency. There will be business owners and all kinds of interesting characters as we navigate these unchartered waters.
- Our blog (multiple updates weekly)
- Email newsletter
- YouTube.com/LifeOnBitcoin
- facebook.com/LifeOnBitcoin
- twitter.com/LifeOnBitcoin
- instagram.com/LifeOnBitcoin
"Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?" t-shirt. Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonymous and mysterious person(s) who invented bitcoin. No one knows who this genius really is and many have tried to find out. However, we do know this: if it were not for the brilliant coding of Satoshi Nakamoto, we would not be attempting this effort to make our own mark on the world with this documentary - living Life on Bitcoin. The artwork is our exclusive design to celebrate the genius of Satoshi Nakamoto and our film logo is above the lower hem.
T-shirt description: Brand: District Made. Super soft and super fine 4.3 oz ring spun cotton fabric with a great fit.
This project asks the simple question, "Can we live on only bitcoin?" The simple answer is, if almost everyone accepted it, of course we could live on it. Choose our "Bitcoin Accepted Here" t-shirt and show your friends you are paving the way. The artwork uses our own take on the open source bitcoin payment button combined with our documentary logo.
T-shirt description: Brand: District Made. Super soft and super fine 4.3 oz ring spun combed cotton fabric with a great fit. We know you'll love it!
Our official film logo shirt. Help us spread the word!
T-shirt description: Brand: District Made. Super soft and super fine 4.3 oz ring spun combed cotton fabric with a great fit.
This is our favorite. We call it "Satoshi's Genius." Every one on our team wants one. This t-shirt features a detailed all over print with a large bitcoin symbol. It is done with careful typography in a letterpress style with the text of Satoshi Nakamoto's revolutionary paper which conceived the concept of bitcoin.
T-shirt description: Brand: District Made. Super soft and super fine 4.3 oz ring spun combed cotton fabric with a great fit.
SIGNED FILM POSTER
Final poster will have film information in the lower part in the typical "movie poster style."
As we film this documentary we're going to need the help of independent businesses. Without merchants to sell us the living necessities, there's no way we'll succeed. Gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, car rental shops, taxis, attorneys, doctors, travel agents, dentists, hotels... if you own a small business and you'd be willing to take bitcoin, submit your business to us at LifeOnBitcoin.com/Local so we can come find you.
Thankfully, we are not doing this whole project alone. We have a very talented and experienced team working on this project with us.
BECCY BINGHAM AND AUSTIN CRAIG
Beccy is a brilliant graphic designer and Austin is professional pitchman and the face of Orabrush, a project that Wired Magazine said "reinvented the infomercial [for YouTube]" (Orabrush has had over 65 million views on YouTube and is one of the top branded YouTube channels on the Internet.)
FILMING - JOE LEBARON AND TRAVIS PITCHER
They are in high demand, but for this project, Joe and Travis will put other productions at THE GOOD LINE on hold. They'll follow our every step while we live on bitcoin, plus they'll work for months after we're done to get the film finished and do post production. Take a look at some of their fantastic work, and you'll see why we wanted them on the project.
PREVIOUS WORK BY THE GOOD LINE:
THE HARMON BROTHERS
ADMIN - THERON
The whole idea for this experiment and the documentary started with Theron. He's led the charge in recruiting the team. Theron contributed multiple creative components to the campaign including the giant bitcoin. Theron has a background in business management and promotion. Theron's primary role will be behind the scenes producing rewards (t-shirts, posters, DVDs), shipping, filtering press calls, coordinating events, running the back office, and contacting sponsors so we can spread the word.
MARKETING - JEFFREY
Jeffrey is a founder at Orabrush Inc. Last year he launched a successful crowdfunding project that raised over $62k on Indiegogo, followed by another $1 million in preorders for Orapup before launch. Jeffrey is leading our marketing efforts and is involved with every aspect of the crowdfunding process.
DESIGN - DANIEL
Daniel works to keep our design clean, consistent and inspiring. Currently an Art Director with Orabrush, and with prior stints with VSA Partners and DDB Chicago, Daniel's skills range from video production to copy writing and design concepting.
TECH - CONNOR BOYACK
Connor is building our website and securing it to make sure our servers don't crash when we get hit by large amounts of traffic. Connor has been a web developer for over 15 years and has worked on several high profile libertarian projects and websites. He is the founder of Libertas Institute, a free market public policy institute in Utah.
Risks and challenges
One major risk is the possibility of an effort by the United States government to make bitcoin illegal or severely limit it. In the event there is a major executive or legislative action against bitcoin, we may be unable to fulfill our 90-day pledge. If this happens, we will still continue and complete the documentary, and we will reposition the film to explore the changing events and the government's actions.
The quality of the documentary film will depend on how much we raise. If we only raise our min goal of $70k, we will still deliver a quality film. However, it will take place primarily, if not exclusively in Utah. This will limit the scope of the film and our experiences. If we raise a much larger sum, we will be able to purchase a very high quality soundtrack, and we will be able to shoot out-of-state locations. If we raise $150k we will take this all the way, attempting all of our objectives including going to another country. It will be glorious!
EXCEPTIONS:
MEDICAL EMERGENCY: Our film crew will be carrying cash in the case of a life threatening or serious medical emergency. We will make concerted attempts to purchase health insurance and auto insurance with bitcoin and to pay medical providers with bitcoin, should that need arise. However, we will not go uninsured if this proves impossible.
GOVERNMENT: We will not be able to pay taxes or other government fees, such as a parking ticket or a fee associated with a government form with bitcoin. We likely have to pay these fees in the countries' currency.
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Funding period
- (31 days)