Code Is Law: Crypto Hack Morality & Smart Contract Debate
Code Is Law, directed by James Craig and Louis Giles, premieres Oct. 21 on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube Movies. The documentary examines major crypto hacks—from the 2014 Mt. Gox breach and 2016 DAO exploit to the 2020 Indexed Finance attack by teenager Andean Medjedovic—and asks whether exploiting smart contract logic to extract tokens is illegal or simply following the code. Drawing on Lawrence Lessig’s “code is law” theory, it contrasts the rigidity of smart contracts with traditional legal systems and state-backed enforcement. The film highlights security challenges in DeFi governance and ignites debate over smart contract security, decentralized governance and future blockchain regulation. This in-depth look at blockchain ethics and crypto hack morality offers traders key insights into the evolving regulatory landscape.
Neutral
While the documentary raises important questions about crypto hack morality and smart contract security, it does not introduce new protocol changes or immediate market-moving events. Short-term trading is unlikely to respond sharply to a film release. In the long term, increased debate on DeFi governance and blockchain regulation could influence investor confidence and policy clarity, but any price impact on Bitcoin or Ethereum remains uncertain. The overall effect on token prices is therefore expected to be neutral.