‘The Next Crypto Gem’ TV Show Aims to Be ‘The Apprentice’ for Crypto

Take “The Apprentice,” add a dash of “Shark Tank” and toss in 16 crypto enthusiasts competing for a six-figure prize package and you’ve got “The Next Crypto Gem,” a new competition reality show that will make its debut in September.

The show will pit contestants against one another in challenges to win a prize package estimated to be worth $150,000. It will feature well-known crypto influencers Brian D. Evans, Layah Heilpern and George Tung as judges as well as guest stars, including original “Shark Tank” cast member Kevin Harrington and infamous crypto personality YouTuber Ben Armstrong, who is better known as “BitBoy Crypto.”

Executive Producer Jett Tang said the heart of the show is to bring crypto to a “mainstream audience for the first time. The teamwork, the rivalry, the larger-than-life characters and the out-the-box ideas.”

One important aspect of the show, Tang told CoinDesk, “is to bring in mainstream adoption and to really show crypto, make crypto interesting and entertaining.”

Tang shared that the first episode’s challenge involves people who were “the least likely to understand crypto and the most unfriendly to crypto.” The contestants are then broken into four teams that need to prove they can explain the basics of blockchain to the “no coiners” to win the challenge.

The education element continues throughout each of the six weeks of challenges, with what Tang called “The Big Short” moments throughout where the judges break in to explain a key crypto term or concept.

While the educational component is important, the show’s focus is on capturing crypto culture and the eclectic characters found in the industry. That is why some of the more controversial crypto figures came to be involved with the show, such as "BitBoy Crypto," who has faced backlash for promoting certain crypto projects on his popular YouTube channel, most notably for hyping now-bankrupt lender Celsius Network.

Tang said he wanted to have diversity in the challenges and “big personalities” to see how the contestants handled that aspect of crypto culture. Tang has also tapped non-crypto personalities as guest stars, such as professional high-stakes poker player Tom Dwan who regularly appears on “High Stakes Poker” and recently won $3.1 million in the largest televised cash pot in history.

“The Next Crypto Gem” will begin airing on Sept. 7, on Insight TV and can be seen on major distribution platforms such as Amazon Prime and Pluto TV as well as hardware platforms like Samsung, Vizio LG and others.

It is not the only entrant in the crypto reality show game. In May, CoinMarketCap announced its show “Killer Whale,” a show with a “Shark Tank” format where entrepreneurs pitch ideas for new Web3 projects. Web3 animated show “Krapopolis” will also debut in September and has already been renewed for a third season.