In the movie, front-runners of technology are the ones that capitalize on vast fortunes. However, these fortunes are seen to be used in a harmful and manipulative manner, controlling public networked communications and views.
Alpha Corp was created based on capitalizing on cryptocurrency's immense scalability and the ability to predict the future exponential growth of cryptocurrency success allowed Alpha Corp to increase in size and ultimately allowed Miles to become a billionaire. Cryptocurrency has global accessibility and is decentralized with a limited supply[2] which may be the reason why Alpha Corp’s cryptocurrency platform generated so much money. Since people saw the exponential trend of some major cryptocurrencies, a lot of people want to join the app to buy and sell, therefore with so much activity on the app, Alpha Corp was able capitalize and generate mass amounts of profits being the frontrunner on one of the largest technological and finance advancements in recent years. The demonstration of the meteoric and exponential rise acts as a direct parallel to the real world, as cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency asset management platforms have skyrocketed in popularity as well. This is evident as one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms “Coinbase” has gained over 5x the amount of users over 4 years[3]. Furthermore, the annual revenue of “Coinbase” in 2020 was 1.27 billion and in 2024, the revenue was 6.29 billion[4].
However, one of the issues with cryptocurrency is due to its accessibility, cryptocurrency brings forth some regulatory challenges. Since Miles has a rather wild personality and is known as one of the “Disruptors”, it would be hard to determine if he would follow said regulations. Thus, this shows the danger of allowing a “Disruptor” like Miles to control a massive cryptocurrency platform as cryptocurrency transactions are anonymous and “recorded using a digital address rather than a personal identifier.”[2]. Therefore, for Miles to keep high app traffic, he might ignore the regulations and allow for potentially suspicious transactions on his app which could negatively impact Alpha Corp’s image.
In the movie, it can be seen that television media on a legitimate channel is used as a method for widespread advertisement of Miles' new product: Klear via Claire, the governor. In 2024, the percentage of US adults who often get news from television communication is 33%, far higher than the 16% from radio and 6% from print publications[5]. This statistic suggests that Miles' is still able to reach a large population via television communications. Furthermore, most headline news will be promoted in trending pages on various web browsers and social media platform nowadays which further extends Miles' possible reach with his intents of selling Klear. Miles funds Claire's campaign and thus Miles can take advantage of Claire's platform and subtly promote Klear. This not only highlights the possibility of manipulation via television communications, it also highlights Miles' irresponsible use of money and power, and how technology money can be used as a means to gain political power through controlling the governor, Claire, which Claire manipulates the mass population and thus Miles is the ultimate winner.
Johnson, Rian, et al. “Glass Onion: A Knives out Mystery.” IMDb, 23 Dec. 2022, www.imdb.com/title/tt11564570/.
Title: Ethics for the Information Age / Michael J. Quinn, Seattle University.
Description: Ninth edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Pearson, [2025] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023057085 | ISBN 9780138238537 (hardcover)
“Coinbase Users 2020.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/803531/number-of-coinbase-users/.
“Coinbase Global Inc (COIN) Stock Price & News.” Google Finance, Google, www.google.com/finance/quote/COIN:NASDAQ?sca_esv=497749797b431add&rlz=1C1VIQF_enUS1072US1072&output=search&source=lnms&fbs=ABzOT_CWdhQLP1FcmU5B0fn3xuWpI0btkW1NTxooXsrcfa31-XXgbgb1gXVGQX-huQlLJy5AIUWM7SznSnCiIOlNlQhILQCFa5ViBCA3L-kQTabHgoqBOkK8icpvJ1DWzCNvpoymoMKsT13-KClpY4PqCyubiQlX-OeUUxTbMOItzVJnMvCyQx2bwSSCNacoD2WYf9dH5g--sdZxkCp1AMqfBzcTjxqwJw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi79qSy5YeNAxU8IzQIHUDBGdMQ0pQJegQIERAB. Accessed 3 May 2025.
Pew Research Center. “News Platform Fact Sheet.” Pew Research Center, 17 Sept. 2024, www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet/.