Digital Drugs and the $3 Billion Bitcoin Heist

3 accounts overlap to tell the story of the Silk Road Heist.
Socials:
Join our discord: / discord
Follow us on twitter: / disrupttweet
Visuals by:
Bebop Films
Kitegun
Noah Martyckus / @martyckus
Northh
Sil
Veeti: / @vtaimisto
Whodatj0ny: / whodatj0ny
YLLW
Audio by:
Jordan
Edited by:
Veeti
Written by:
Ben Rose
Produced by:
Jordan
Veeti
Narrated by:
Jordan
Soundtrack by: Jordan
Based on the book Flash Crash by Liam Vaughan
Additional Sources:
Treanor, J., & Gow, D. (2008, January 28). Socgen Trader spent three days unravelling €50bn Kerviel trades.
The Guardian.
Holstead, M. (2023, August 7). Losing Billions on the DAX​. Traders Mastermind.
Cutler, D. (2010, October 5). Ex-SocGen trader Kerviel found guilty. Reuters.
Bloomberg Originals. (2020). The Wild $50M Ride of the Flash Crash Trader. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
CFI Team. (2015). 2010 Flash Crash. CFI Education Inc.
Bloomberg Originals. (2015). Alleged Flash Crash Trader’s Former Employer Speaks Out. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
Bloomberg Originals. (2015). Flash Crash: Can Only One Trader Be Responsible?. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
Brabant M. (2010, May 5). Three dead as Greece protest turns violent. BBC News, Athens.
VPRO documentary. (2012). Flash Crash 2010 | VPRO documentary | 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
‘FINDINGS REGARDING THE MARKET EVENTS OF MAY 6, 2010’ (2010). Washington D.C.: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
Kirilenko, A., Kyle, A. S., Samad, M., & Tuzun, T. (2014, May 5). The Flash Crash: The Impact of High Frequency Trading on an Electronic Market. Washington D.C.; U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Bloomberg Originals. (2015). Flash Crash: How Spoofing Caused the Crash. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
Futures Trader Charged with Illegally Manipulating Stock Market, Contributing to the May 2010 Market ‘Flash Crash.’ (2015, April 21). Retrieved November 14, 2023.
Lopez, L. (2015, April 21). A trader faces charges in connection with the 2010 'Flash Crash'. Insider Inc.
Calamur, K. (2015, September 3). Bail For Alleged Flash Crash Trader Set At More Than $7M. WGBH.
Davies, C. & Gayle D. (2015, April 22). 'Flash crash' case: UK trader to fight extradition to US. Guardian News & Media Limited.
Associated Press. (2020, January 28). 'Hound of Hounslow' trader who caused a Wall Street 'flash crash' from his bedroom is spared jail: Autistic maths whiz walks free and promises to 'never do anything illegally again.’ Associated Newspapers Ltd.
United States of America v. Navinder Singh Sarao (United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois January 14, 2020). Case No. 15 CR 75. CCH Incorporated.
Vaughan, L. (2017, February 10). How flash crash trader Navinder Singh Rao went from genius to dupe. HT Digital Streams Ltd.

[@phlanxsmurf]

Okay, so I know there was drama and some personnel changes, and a lag in videos for a bit, but man did this channel come back strong. Continued content like this will absolutely redeem this channel. Well done.

[@Conorscorner]

Redeem what? Unless you make content yourself you really can't say crap like that

[@nothingtoospecial777]

@@Conorscorner bruh

[@papabaddad]

@@Conorscornerwell conor i hope you've never had an opinion about a movie, tv show, game, or really any product ever

[@codymustafa5034]

As a viewer, we are the only reason content has meaning. Keep sniffing your own shit big guy, you sound super smart!@@Conorscorner

[@Periwinkleaccount]

@@codymustafa5034 I somewhat agree, but you should have some respect. You definitely wouldn’t say that offline to someone’s face. If I sound like a smartass, then you don’t care about it enough.

[@Tri2p]

I still can’t believe I watched a trailer for a KZbin video

[@DisruptReality]

😅

[@davidhowell1415]

You’re not the only one

[@nathansuss]

And it worked

[@frankcastle1862]

lmaoo

[@l.schaefer9274]

​@DisruptReality you're on a very short list that can get away with that as far as I'm concerned

[@RedGr33nBlue]

THIS is what i subbed to disrupt for. no drama, just a well edited, well researched, lemmino style video about the digital ecosystem. great job Jordan, cant wait to see more from you and the disrupt team.

[@Michael-yb2jh]

lemino was cool until that weird JFK stuff that completely ignored the general current fact that the CIA did it

[@RedGr33nBlue]

@@Michael-yb2jh LOL

[@Perilloux]

@@Michael-yb2jhyeah. I don’t know why he thought Lee Harvey did it. I was kinda surprised that’s the ONLY angle he didn’t look at.

[@skyaleer]

@@PerillouxWell I really hope you watched the entire video, because at the end he reveals a ton of evidence that he purposely hid from you to convince you that Lee Harvey did it. He even said straight up that that kind of evidence ignoring and cherry picking is what people need to be aware of when watching videos like that. With everything he brought up in the end, it really brings back a lot of doubt that Harvey did it at all, with so much contradicting information that SOMEONE involved has to be lying or mistaken or covering-up. The whole first part of the video served as a really well presented preparation for a bait-and-switch "well actually I've been hiding all this other info from you this whole time, but at least I told you. see how easy it can be to be misled like this?"

[@jayache7491]

Not me bro, I came to see him fall man

[@arson_carson]

As a video editor myself, I don't just "watch" Disrupt. My eyes are simply submerged into every visual detail conveyed by the excellent storytelling. I fucking love this channel.

[@EKT_Enthusiast]

Drugs and bitcoin... You know Yoda was paying heavy for that ketamine

[@PinguSmokes]

committed vehicular manslaughter, he has. in a 1996 toyota camry, it was.

[@Astrosk1er]

I’d like to image when yoda is high he just talks normal with a slight British accent

[@That-Google-Guy]

@@Astrosk1erI’m dead lol

[@CaptainWrinkleBrain]

The Audio work on this is incredible. Perfect volume level throughout, good music pics, high quality

[@pauld8747]

It’s way too loud

[@PhantomlyReaper]

@@pauld8747 It's always better to have extra headroom in volume so the user can lower it if they feel like it. That being said, I didn't find it to be too loud, after all YT normalizes audio while it's being uploaded so videos don't blast your eardrums going from one video to the next.

[@sandycultofthesun]

"good music" bro this was an UNREAL selection of music for this video. In WHAT video are you ever going to hear both a CasisDead sample AND Khruangbin???? No where. Whoever did the soundtrack for this has both exceptional and very wide taste in music.

[@pauld8747]

@@PhantomlyReaper i mean the music is loud compared to the voice. If i turned it down, i wouldn’t be able to hear him.

[@MissRoux]

It would be nice if the video had subtitles that are not AI generated. I'm learning English, and there are some stuff that I cannot pick up.

[@_Matchu]

EXCELLENT STORY TELLING!!!! I love the use of 'you' and 'your' to put the viewer in the shoes of the characters, and I love the appeals to the viewers' emotions... I really hope you guys are getting paid enough for these because yall've earned it

[@neanda]

so true

[@Cipheress]

The second person POV is so rarely used, and it just works so well in these type of videos.

[@Nop3.1]

Yall’ve? Not a word. And it’s y’all.

[@_Matchu]

@@Nop3.1 bro its a fucking KZbin comment not a PhD thesis or scientific journal publication, as long as it communicates the intended message who the fuck cares if it's "not a word" but even if so, y'all technical isn't a word either

[@gallbladder54]

love this style of storytelling

[@zanzlanz]

You feel omnipresent, because the story was told in second person for each of the 3 viewpoints. REALLY neat storytelling. Excellent video as always!

[@willdrcl]

Very important point, Jimmy did NOT "hack" the Silk Road! He requested a refund for something twice by accident and it refunded him twice the amount. He then used an autoclicker to see how much he could get away with. In fact Ross Ulbricht (Silk Road founder and owner) found out, asked him how he did it, and let him keep all the money for helping enhance the site's security.

[@fauxman1]

You kidding me? Why did Jimmy get absolutely any prison time then?

[@Nop3.1]

Not only that he also gave Jimmy more bitcoin on top of it as a thank you.

[@Nop3.1]

@@fauxman1jimmy’s case was bullshit. The government also seized his legitimate bitcoin, the ones he mined.

[@vtaimisto]

Hope yall enjoy what we've been cooking up

[@BriannaTheGod]

Glad to see another upload from you guys! Ignore the hate, this video was great

[@GrannyBender]

Absolutely! I feel like that with the few last videos, you guys managed to find your flow. It was fantastic, both in terms of narration, editing and style.

[@kratozaku]

Have been watching the channel and missed the videos. Great job!

[@realjunde5723]

paljo palkka😳

[@compromisedssh]

I enjoyed this video. The only way you could've improved it would be by truly embracing the ultrawide mentality. Anyone can make a 21:9 video. Show us a 32:9 video (I want to watch at least once KZbin video without any black bars anywhere).

[@connersalmon9167]

I talked to SuperTrips on Reddit. Cool guy, he was trying the personal fitness trainer route when I talked to him a year or two ago. I remember him from Silk Road, guy was a fucking legend. Many people thought he was a plant/honey pot because of how much stuff he had available and at good prices.

[@citrus4419]

That’s wild I want to hear more of your experience

[@MiningJack777]

I find it funny how y'all used (presumably) gmod for some of the scenes, especially the final one of the boarding group. Great vid, and i look forward to more in the future!

[@bounceysteve]

I didn’t even notice that and I own every valve game on steam

[@kamajamalaks]

I was gonna say that as well, I laughed a bit when I saw the robbery scene gmod sneak

[@kuritheking]

They didn’t use any AI? That makes it even better tbh

[@damage_incorp0rated]

@@kuritheking they did for some image generation earlier on in the video for slideshows but that's really it

[@desireecatalinafdn-p3316]

Love this new vid! Quality of Disrupt content is unmatched.

[@valid1375]

glad to see more from you guys

[@pauly260]

Same!

[@BinaryPLUR]

The masters of storytelling, welcome back DisrupTV!

[@jepbarhalmyradov9135]

This is what we call a great documentary, one of the hidden gems of yt. Great work! 👏🏿

[@SwitchMaxFX]

the quality is INSANE

[@Jerry-Jardorc69]

These are seriously the best videos on KZbin man! These are just like all my favorite truecrime documentaries in shorter format and it’s incredible! Please never stop

[@svience8072]

For a second I thought this was gonna be about the origins of the Silk Road, similar to the one James Jani made, but I was pleasantly surprised! Great work as always.

[@bishthefish]

I spend a lot of my time on here, but disrupt vids when they come along just really makes me appreciate the difference in good quality vids. feelsgoodman

[@Tefter.]

i absolutely love the 21:9 aspect ratio. Love your videos and with an ultrawide monitor they are so good. keep it up

[@aztrose1023]

I can't believe Jimmy pulled a Cobbler from Better Call Saul.

[@whycantibefree]

I thought the same exact thing.

[@gwagon611]

watched that episode like 2 hours ago fr

[@spencernoffke8259]

NEVER CALL THE IRS

[@BFke21]

You don't have to... they call you 🙄

[@mrdiamozz9612]

I am calling them right n... They called me

[@nigeldurant]

Very clever presentation and very well put together video. Nice to be able to hear what is actually being said and not to have overdominating background noise/music etc to potentially spoil it but enough to enhance the production. Look forward to further work by you guys.

[@tylerromeno]

One of the best damn video ive seen so far in this platform, i love the visuals, the writing, everything!! Keep ot up

[@chezitoo]

im so glad y'all are coming back with these bangers. it seems like the good ole' days are back!!

[@MrBigCookieCrumble]

Veeti Taimisto deserves a raise. Frankly all the team members behind this deserve a raise for the incredible production quality of this work. What an incredible comeback! :D

[@ogeidsamsora]

This feels very "Lemmino", i like that.

[@golfbo9762k0bn]

i thought this was some futuristic Breaking Bad spinoff

[@AUM_-po9sc]

Not that far from the truth

[@_Matchu]

it isnt?

[@maddawgmoody]

This video is amazing. The story telling, the volume, quality, over all an awesome watch. I've been on YT since 2013 and love all the awesome content its come to bear. Keep it coming Disrupt!!!

[@0therun1t21]

It's always greed that bites people in the ass, I hope at least some of them learn their lesson. I love the way you make videos, they're on the beat like a music video. They're entertaining as hell, informative works of art and the style is unique, at least I've never encountered another channel quite like this one. Thank you!

[@ChartreuseDan]

There are probably more than a few people that didn't get greedy, but that's exactly why you'll never hear about them

[@tonyblitz1]

These documentaries are so high quality. I love how the format really puts you in the shoes of the people involved, and I don't know what strings you pulled to use copywritten music, but it's weirdly refreshing to hear both indie tunes and familiar radio hits interspersed in the videos.

[@anulu-momento]

This kinda content is probably the only thing stopping youtube from being a sewer full of cat piss

[@greenockscatman]

What a wild piece of internet history this was! Easiest sub of my life, man

[@thomp]

Hey! It’s The Books in the soundtrack. Great band! 1:50

[@ParisLawLess]

Even though I've heard this story before I got to give you guys major props on a production of this video. The music in a graphics are on point

[@detroityeet7048]

Incredible in every way. The visuals, the narration, the music, the way all the stories intertwine, it's amazing. Welcome back.

[@zoorped]

Glad to see the channel coming back to that insane content. Keep pushing!

[@noobgamerz8394]

the quality of edit and the way he just puts his line together for the storytelling perfect just love this guy. and theres no reason to not subscribe now

[@richardscargill7201]

Digging these new videos! Yr return to YT is a welcome development.. The light you shed on these cautionary tales of various hi-tech criminality is fascinating, and the music included is freaking great, as well as the writing and editing.

[@AoiSyuuto]

Thank you disrupt, I love you disrupt.

[@EthoneUSA]

This was nuts, one of the best vids out recently on the whole site

[@FlantisFroggu]

My first thought at the thumbnail is thinking "Is that Gordon Freeman?"

[@thefrub]

I love the little shot of all the HL2 characters at the airport at the end. It feels like that sometimes

[@jakehbrown3436]

Keep it up with hacking and digital crime content nobody talks about it like y'all it's so interesting

[@DisposalFur]

I'm very glad to see you guys have managed to make a comeback after all that! Your content was a MASSIVE inspiration to me just a few years ago, and seeing you guys make a comeback is wonderful! You're already getting the quality pretty on point, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you all! Honestly my only suggestion I really have is to bring back the TV show like breaks in between segments, as I was a massive fan of the whole virtual, retro future VR aesthetic. Honestly though, even without that I'd say you're pretty much back in business! I wish you all the best of luck, because for the first time in over three years, I'm turning on notifications! ^^

[@hend0wski]

Irs really said "oh no someone else stole the money before we could. Better go prosecute them for it"

[@syntheticfauna]

Man!... the edition on these videos! Keep them coming!

[@pixels_per_minute]

Glad to see you guys putting more content back out there. Best of luck with the new videos!

[@Asumji]

not entirely sure what to think of the drama but god this video is crazy glad you're back

[@jaywaup]

Too bad the US Government didn’t use that three billion for the debt of our country.

[@saullopez3780]

three billion is nothing. we are trillions in debt homie

[@flamshiz]

this narrative of changing first person perspectives is excellent

[@gigilaco]

Absolutely amazing video! The illustration and music is top notch.

[@sandycultofthesun]

bro this was an UNREAL selection of music for this video. In WHAT video are you ever going to hear both a CasisDead sample AND Khruangbin???? No where. Whoever did the soundtrack for this has both exceptional and very wide taste in music. ggz

[@Oshop3]

This editing is what editing should be, absolutely loved this one >>>

[@may22135]

the visuals are 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@a.KniteOwl]

duuuude you got your voice back! not literally the same guy, but the right spirit👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻bravo!!

[@BaconbuttywithCheese]

Fantastic as usual. Unique and compelling.

[@DBucksify]

"How to stretch a script through editing" No but seriously yall do amazing work

[@proddanyy]

Wow. I love documentaries like this, and the visuals, along with the 2nd person storytelling really made this entire video so good to watch. Earned my sub for sure

[@NextGenMafia]

Fucking love this channel, the music is always on point, the editing is out of this world and the stories are so fucking enthralling. I don't give a shit about the drama over selling the channel. keep this shit up!

[@aboringdyst0pia]

I'm sorry you all had to deal with all this drama, but I am glad you're finally uploading some new content! Normally I don't really comment on videos, but this one is for the algorhytm ;)

[@skies947]

This is one of the most well made unique vids I've seen

[@emthegem8141]

@17:59 Thats Montréal babeyyyyyyyyyy lets gooooooooo Side note, really dope video, love that your back in action :)

[@timoteedrimes6400]

Criminally underrated

[@fender7083]

This was so well done, glad to see this channel coming back!

[@ArchiIux]

He’s back

[@SmoltingWassie]

People saying you came back strong, I say you never left 💪🏼 keep up the work big dog, we are in awe of you as always. Bless up ❤

[@nortonman5238]

I love the content you guys have made despite what's going on. What you truly need is a rebrand. Get rid of the disrupt name, lead up to it, encourage others to sub to it before releasing content, and become reborn without the stigma. Because the content is already solid.

[@duncansyer2374]

Underrated fr

[@Bear-qe7cj]

Man this KZbin video should become a movie.

[@Euanker]

this style of editing is grim

[@DBucksify]

The script was what, 10 minutes?

[@mannperson324]

How?

[@Nop3.1]

The KZbin channel Crumb has a really good video on Jimmy. Dude had a crazy, depressing lifestyle.

[@undersc0r]

Easily top 5 youtube videos I've watched.

[@jamesevans8520]

DOPE VIDEO MY GUY.just found ur channel again

[@mazgames9675]

nothing on youtube can keep up to the quality of your videos i love it

[@Kittylynx101]

At first glance I thought your profile pic was trump but it’s just a rabbit with a pancake on his head

[@Diptera_Larvae]

Great to see this channel bounce back in big way! Thanks for another great video!

[@Camell513]

Not the khruangbin + Leon Bridges song at 19:37 Thats so cool! Glad to see a return, I enjoyed how the stories weaved together. It was a bit hard to keep track though.

[@AllyWen]

great video! please please consider writing actual captions/subtitles!!!! as a hard of hearing person, i know this would be a huge help for a lot of your audience

[@wadewathen5828]

This was actually a very thrilling video for me to listen to, I actually felt like a PI and almost like I was listening to a movie that was playing in my head. All I was waiting for was the connection to a real life case, but I'm fine knowing it isn't. Awesome video!

[@connoroballe6100]

This video has been the most intriguing KZbin video I’ve seen all year, I don’t know how it isn’t performing better

[@Mr.Waffle.]

Didn't expect a white stripes deep cut

[@saullopez3780]

Hello, New here. This was absolutely amazing. I drive 25min to work every morning. and I started this video when I left the house. it was so peaceful listening to such a well told and captivating story. We are truly living in the times! So dope

[@tripical]

Missed your vids big time glad to see you posting🎉

[@justnate01]

New Disrupt is awesome. Old Disrupt is respectable, and I wish all the best for Jak now that everything is settling, but oh boy does new Disrupt feel so exciting

[@BTTRSWYT]

Not sure how I feel about the ai used in some of the shots but if there's a kind of content that I think is alright maybe using those tools its content with this level of production quality and originality. Great work.

[@peterbaillif4607]

This might be one of the best channels ever to exist on this platform. I can’t even think of another KZbin channel that compares

[@04stangman]

Amazing video!!!! Keep em coming!!!

[@IbbiAhmed]

What? Only 71k? THIS SHIT BETTER HIT 70 MIL SOON. CRAZY PRODUCTION QUALITY. (also AI is still far from perfect. but you guys used it really well. 10/10)

[@Tigerbricks11]

Jordan’s narration and soundtrack choice is so good. The visuals team is great too. Wish I could edit like that.

[@gaymanisfree]

Disrupt got exposed.

[@yurizacharov9236]

How

[@brettvandekerckhove2299]

the needle drops on these have been unbelievable. keep it up fellas

[@theryanthomas]

Loved it. The visuals. The timing and delivery. The story. Magnificent

[@lordstone57]

Wake up, new disrupt just dropped

[@ThisKidLennon]

Something about someone who sounds like Peter Parker telling us a story of drugs and Bitcoin is just so perfect.

[@user-lr5kf5qf8e]

Lesson of the story. Always wear gloves, never speak with authoritites without a presence pf a good lawyer, never get sloppy. Got it.

[@Dr_DoomJazz]

I didn’t understand the like to dislike ratio until I bought what I thought was a share of disrupt tv

[@yourkusterredman3436]

I havent seen disrupt in forever. Glad the channel didnt fall apart.

[@eractum]

The storytelling is great, but the use of AI stock footage and Garry's mod at the end made me giggle