The popular television animated series Futurama, which has millions of followers, made a significant prediction. The last episode of the series, which was first aired in 1999, hinted that in the year 3023, humans (and robots) would still be engaged in Bitcoin mining. Futurama, an animated science fiction series created long before Bitcoin became a glimmer in Satoshi Nakamoto’s eyes, mocked cryptocurrency miners in its third episode of the latest rerun.
Mocking Bitcoin
In the episode titled “How the West Was 1010001,” which was released on Hulu on August 6th, the main characters find themselves indebted to the Robot Mafia and are forced to travel to a parody called “Crypto Country” in the Wild West to mine the materials needed to create Bitcoin.
According to Futurama, in the year 3023, the price of BTC not only remains volatile, but people also continue to travel in search of “cheap, dirty electricity” to continue block mining.
Among the ridiculous jokes in the episode are the collection of thallium elements for use in crypto mining chips, the relocation to the Old West town of Doge City, and the massive power consumption by BTC miners that would ionize the atmosphere. Although the show primarily mocks Bitcoin, it also includes references to cursed Ethereum and robot heads used for crypto mining.
Futurama is Older than Bitcoin
Futurama was first aired in March 1999, approximately 10 years before the first Bitcoin transaction. Although the series rarely mentioned cryptocurrencies before its final episode, crypto assets have become a part of mainstream films and TV shows, from South Park to Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
Interestingly, Futurama did not address why characters would still be engaged in Bitcoin mining in the year 3023, even in a fictional comedic future. Based on the halving process of BTC, predictions indicate that the last block will likely be mined around the year 2140.