Five years ago, I set out to do something unconventional—fuse the world of decentralized finance with the art of filmmaking. At the time, the idea raised a few eyebrows. Could blockchain and DeFi tools not only fund films but also reshape how they’re made, owned, and experienced? Could decentralization empower artists the way it was empowering finance?
Today, after half a decade of experimenting, building, and storytelling, I can confidently say: yes. And we’re just getting started.
The Beginning: A Question of Ownership
The seed was a simple question: why should filmmakers give up creative control or ownership just to get funding? Traditional film financing often feels like a closed-door game. Meanwhile, DeFi offered new possibilities—open, permissionless, and transparent systems for value exchange. So I asked myself: what would it look like if a film was funded and governed more like a protocol than a studio?
That’s when the vision for decentralized film finance was born—not just as a funding model, but as a new creative and economic structure for cinema itself.
The Projects That Shaped the Path
Every experiment taught me something new. It started with The Fakefluencer, a documentary that peeled back the layers of social media influence and authenticity—and served as an early testbed for community-supported production.
Then came Hexicans & The Time Value of Money, a deeper dive into crypto culture and monetary philosophy. This film didn’t just explore the DeFi space—it lived in it, becoming a case study in how decentralized technologies and passionate communities could shape a story.
Now, in 2025, we’re wrapping up Degen Generation, the most ambitious project yet. It has pulled together everything I’ve learned—about funding, transparency, creative independence, and how to build with and for a digitally native audience. It’s a love letter to crypto culture, and a blueprint for how storytelling can thrive in new economic systems.
The Wins (and the Wounds)
There were highs—seeing strangers around the world invest in a story they believed in, collaborating with people who cared deeply about both the content and the process, and witnessing a film’s success ripple back into the community that helped bring it to life.
There were also setbacks—regulatory uncertainty, tech limitations, moments of burnout, and the ever-present challenge of translating crypto-native ideas into compelling, human stories.
But those struggles made the mission clearer: it’s not about putting film on the blockchain. It’s about putting power into the hands of creators and communities.
What I’ve Learned
- Storytelling is still king. No matter how slick the tech, it’s the narrative that moves people.
- Community beats audience. When people have a stake, they don’t just watch—they care.
- Transparency builds trust. Smart contracts don’t lie. And that matters in an industry full of smoke and mirrors.
- Innovation takes time. There’s no shortcut to building something new and meaningful—especially when you’re inventing the rules as you go.
What’s Next: Building Indikin
The next phase is Indikin—an ecosystem where everything I’ve learned over the past five years can be shared, scaled, and applied by other independent filmmakers. It’s built to empower creators with tools for decentralized funding, community-driven participation, and transparent economics.
While it won’t call itself a DAO, Indikin will integrate many of the values and mechanics that DAOs have pioneered—collective input, on-chain infrastructure, and participatory governance—without getting bogged down in the labels or limitations.
Indikin is about creative sovereignty. It’s about designing new paths for indie filmmakers to finance, produce, and distribute their work—on their terms, with their communities.
In Gratitude
To everyone who’s been part of this wild experiment—thank you. Whether you minted a token, joined a call, watched a film, or challenged an idea—you helped shape this vision.
Here’s to the next five years of DeFi filmmaking. Let’s keep telling stories. Let’s keep building.
👉 Visit indikin.com to meet the team bringing Indikin to life.