The longest-running TV series in the world gives cryptocurrencies mainstream exposure

The Simpsons, the world’s longest-running TV series, has given its viewers an accurate glimpse into cryptocurrencies. In the 13th episode of the 31st season, the show has dedicated 80 seconds to inform people about the basics of virtual coins. This huge for cryptocurrencies as The Simpsons attracts over four million viewers.

The scene starts with Professor Frink introducing cryptocurrencies to Lisa Simpson by turning on the TV where Jim Parsons (the actor who plays Sheldon Cooper in the show Big Bang Theory), explains how digital tokens work. In the segment, Parsons explains how blockchain is instrumental for Bitcoin to function, how the chain works and how new blocks are added to the chain. The episode showcased an animated book that bursts into song to describe how a distributed ledger works.

I’m a consensus of shared and synchronized digital data spread across multiple platforms from Shanghai to Grenada. Each day I’m closer to being the cash of the future. Not in your wallet, I’m in your computer.

Following this, Parsons hits the jackpot and the slot machine pushes out Bitcoin. Parsons then goes on to explain the connection between the ledger and the blockchain.

When you use the currency, the transaction is recorded in the ledger. And when one ledger book gets filled up, we add to a chain of previous books. That’s the blockchain.