Malone Lam — the Singaporean man who just pleaded guilty in a US court to orchestrating a $240 million bitcoin theft — is trending, and there's no movie about him yet. But if this story has you hooked, you're in luck: crypto crime is one of the richest documentary genres of the decade, and almost all of it is easy to stream.
The fastest answer: Netflix. The three best crypto heist and scam documentaries — Biggest Heist Ever, Bitconned, and Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King — are all Netflix originals, so a single subscription (from $7.99/month with ads) covers most of the genre. HBO Max adds the best Satoshi-hunting doc, and there are genuinely good free options below.
The best crypto crime documentaries and where they stream
Biggest Heist Ever (2024) — Netflix. The closest match to the Malone Lam story. It covers the 2016 Bitfinex hack and the bizarre couple — Ilya Lichtenstein and rapper Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan — caught laundering billions in stolen bitcoin, ending in the largest financial seizure in Department of Justice history. If the news this week sent you searching, start here.
Bitconned (2024) — Netflix. The Centra Tech ICO scam, told largely by the scammers themselves. Ray Trapani is one of the most brazenly candid subjects ever put in a true-crime doc, and the film doubles as a crash course in how easily crypto hype separated people from their money in 2017.
Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King (2022) — Netflix. The QuadrigaCX collapse: a Canadian exchange founder dies suddenly abroad, roughly $190 million in customer funds becomes unreachable, and a group of burned investors turns amateur detective. Shorter and pulpier than the other two, but the mystery still holds up.
Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery (2024) — HBO Max. Not a heist film — filmmaker Cullen Hoback (Q: Into the Storm) spends the movie hunting the identity of bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and lands on a genuinely controversial answer. It's the best documentary about bitcoin itself, and the ideal chaser after the crime docs.
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (2023) — Netflix. Not crypto, but it's the blueprint. Every crypto Ponzi documentary is really a Madoff story with new technology, and this four-part series is the definitive telling of the original.
Older bitcoin docs (Banking on Bitcoin, Cryptopia, The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin). These early films rotate between free ad-supported services and digital rental. Availability changes often, so check the title on Tubi or your rental store of choice; expect $3.99–$5.99 if you have to rent.
Cost breakdown
| Option | Price | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix (Standard with ads) | $7.99/mo | Biggest Heist Ever, Bitconned, Trust No One, Madoff |
| Netflix (Standard, no ads) | $17.99/mo | Same library, ad-free, two streams |
| HBO Max (with ads) | ~$11/mo | Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery |
| Tubi | Free | Rotating older crypto and finance docs, with ads |
| Kanopy / Hoopla | Free with a library card | Rotating documentary catalogs |
| Digital rental (Prime Video, Apple TV, etc.) | $3.99–$5.99 per film | Older titles not on any subscription |
Prices are typical US rates and change periodically — confirm current pricing on each service's official site.
The practical play: almost everything lives on one service. A single month of Netflix with ads ($7.99) gets you through the entire core list in a weekend or two. Add one month of HBO Max only if you want Money Electric, then cancel either one whenever you're done — both are month-to-month with no cancellation fee.
How to watch crypto crime stories for free
You can go surprisingly deep without paying anything, all of it legal:
- Tubi is free with ads and regularly carries older bitcoin documentaries and financial-crime films. Search "bitcoin" or "crypto" there before renting anything.
- Kanopy and Hoopla stream documentaries free with a public library card, and their finance/tech-doc shelves rotate solid titles. If you haven't linked your library card to one of these apps, it takes five minutes.
- YouTube hosts some of the best free crypto-fraud journalism anywhere. Investigator Coffeezilla's long-form videos broke or advanced several major scam stories, and outlets like Bloomberg and CNBC post full documentary specials on their official channels — all free with ads.
- News coverage of the Lam case itself streams free: NBC News, CBS News, and ABC News all run free 24/7 streaming channels (on their own apps plus Pluto TV and similar services) where ongoing coverage of major fraud cases airs.
What's new right now (September 2026)
This section is time-sensitive; everything above should stay accurate long-term.
Malone Lam pleaded guilty in September 2026 to his role in a ring that stole roughly $240 million in bitcoin from a single victim through social engineering, then burned through it on cars, jewelry, and nightclub sprees — with several co-conspirators barely out of their teens. There is no documentary about this case yet, but it has everything streamers look for: a record-setting theft, young defendants, and lavish spending caught on camera. It would be surprising if a doc or scripted series isn't already in development. Until one is officially announced, treat any "watch the Malone Lam documentary" link you see as a scam — the only legitimate coverage right now is news reporting and podcasts.
FAQ
Is there a movie or documentary about Malone Lam? Not yet. As of September 2026, the case is covered only by news outlets and true-crime podcasts. Given the scale of the theft, expect announcements — check the news section of Netflix or HBO Max for anything official rather than trusting random links.
Do I need more than one streaming service for this genre? No. Netflix alone covers the essential heist and scam docs. HBO Max is only necessary for Money Electric, and you can rotate — one month of one, then one month of the other — instead of paying for both at once.
Are the free options actually legal? Yes. Tubi and Pluto TV are ad-supported services owned by Fox and Paramount respectively, Kanopy and Hoopla are funded through public libraries, and official YouTube channels are free with ads. You never need a sketchy site to watch any of this.