Updated on:11/29/2025 05:01 PM 
CryptoSlate had the distinct pleasure of speaking with accomplished filmmakers Ashley Pugh and Lisa Downs, the visionary crypto founders behind the popular crypto YouTube channel, Recent Kids on the Blockchain.
In our exclusive interview, we explore:
Q: You're a dynamic duo in the crypto space. Did your paths cross through crypto, or was it a shared passion you discovered together?
ASHLEY: We actually met before diving into crypto, at an awards event in Ibiza. We were both entrenched in the filmmaking world; I had a long history in film and television broadcasting, while Lisa's focus was primarily on cinematic filmmaking.
LISA: That was back in 2013. I was completely new to crypto at the time, though Ashley was aware of it and intrigued but hadn't yet made a purchase. Like so many people, we often look back and think, "If only we had bought Bitcoin in 2013!" It’s a classic what-if scenario.
Q: What was the inspiration for launching 'Recent Kids on the Blockchain,' and can you tell us about the story behind your 2019 feature film of the same name?
ASHLEY: It all unfolded quite organically. We had been producing feature-length documentaries, and my interest in crypto had been growing for some time. Despite an attempt to buy bitcoin in 2014 (a story best left untold!), I found the whole concept incredibly complex.
Fast forward to 2016, I started buying small amounts, watching countless videos, and soon found ourselves at the London Blockchain Expo. Witnessing the sheer chaos as the ICO boom began to take off, I turned to Lisa and said, "We have to start filming this."
We quickly became familiar faces at events globally, getting to meet and interview an incredible roster of personalities, from Roger Ver to John McAfee, along with many of the era's key influencers. We started chronicling our journey, and someone suggested we release some short-form content on YouTube, given the space's rapid pace—much faster than the three-year lifecycle of a typical feature doc.
LISA: We were brainstorming on a beach one day, discussing how to share our experiences more effectively, and the idea just clicked: "Why don't we create a channel where we can share our journey as a pair?" Representation was crucial for me; there weren't many female voices in the space, and we were adamant about not creating another sensationalist channel promising the 'next 1000x altcoin.' Instead, we applied our filmmaking expertise to craft truly engaging and insightful interviews.
What I believe sets our documentary apart is that we filmed from the inside out—an approach few others were taking. There were TV shows and docs being made about crypto, but they were produced by outsiders looking in. We were in the thick of it, and I love that when you watch the film, you can truly feel the excitement and the madness of that moment.
Q: So, filmmaking is your primary passion?
ASHLEY: Absolutely. We have a deep love for documentaries and have produced films on various subjects beyond our crypto project. At its core, it's all about storytelling, and the crypto space is filled with incredible narratives—from the libertarian ideals and the technological evolution to the profound impact on ordinary people's lives. I was a bit too young to fully witness the dawn of the internet, but I feel we’ve been given a remarkable opportunity to document the story of this incredible, nascent technology.
LISA: For me, the thrill lies in the unpredictability. You're documenting a story as it unfolds, with no clear idea of the final outcome. Back then, we had no idea what would become of crypto; we just knew we were witnessing the birth of something extraordinary.
Q: You produce high-end, 4K broadcast-quality content every week. What was the reasoning behind that commitment to quality?
ASHLEY: We decided from the very beginning that if we were going to launch a show, it had to be in 4K and look exceptionally professional. It took time to perfect our workflow, and the workload is immense, but viewers consistently comment on the quality. I suppose that's the result of our combined 30-plus years in the industry.
What was your perception of the crypto space during the 2017 bull run?
ASHLEY: It was unlike anything we had ever witnessed. The opening sequence of our documentary, which is available for free on our YouTube channel, really captures the essence of it. Lamborghinis, people claiming to be changing the world, money flying everywhere, projects scrambling to sell their tokens. It felt like being in a wild game where every spin was a win… well, until it wasn't anymore, of course.
LISA: I honestly didn't know what to make of it! It felt surreal. As we discuss in our film, you're looking at numbers on a screen suggesting you have an absurd amount of wealth, but it doesn't feel real. You know it's not, until it isn't, but it's so difficult to grasp what's happening. The endless stream of new projects and ICOs was just overwhelming.
How does the current bull market feel different from 2017?
ASHLEY: Interestingly enough, we're already working on a follow-up feature to chart this period. The explosion of DeFi has been phenomenal, and the meteoric rise of some projects feels very similar, but this time there are much larger players involved.
Crypto seems to have matured a bit, but it's still in its awkward teenage years. If the ICO era was the Wild West, then parts of the DeFi space were the dangerous saloon with a rigged card game where you could strike it rich or get shot at any moment. The whole 'rug pull' phenomenon was astonishing. The froth is starting to dissipate, and everyone can see that, but again, many strong projects will survive, and many will die off, making way for the next cycle.
LISA: I feel like people have learned a lot about navigating a bull market and handling it emotionally. They are more conscious about taking profits and not letting greed dictate their actions. It also feels like the projects that have been in development for years now have a much better grasp of the technology and its true potential. We're finally starting to see some fantastic real-world use cases and projects that genuinely look like they have a chance of long-term viability.
Q: What responsibilities do you feel as a Crypto Influencer?
ASHLEY: We have always tried to avoid simply shilling projects. We do have sponsored content, as it helps cover our significant production costs, but we always ensure the information is as educational and objective as possible, empowering our audience to make their own informed decisions.
LISA: And even with sponsored content, we only feature projects we have personally vetted. We've researched their team, scrutinized their whitepaper and roadmap, so our community can trust what we're discussing, even if we don't promise to make them millionaires overnight.
How important is your 'Recent Kids' community to you?
ASHLEY: We have a relatively small but incredibly dedicated community, and we are deeply grateful for them. We've also had the privilege of meeting a vast range of talented individuals from around the world on this journey, which we truly cherish.
LISA: That's been one of the most rewarding aspects of our YouTube adventure—getting to know our community members personally, meeting them at events. There's this powerful sense that "we're all in this together!" I think most of our community saw an 80% drop in their portfolios during the last bear market, so it's like, "Yep, we get it, we feel you!" And now we're all navigating this new bull run together, which has been fantastic.
Do you think crypto is getting closer to mainstream adoption?
ASHLEY: It's definitely becoming more mainstream, and the technology is getting less mind-bogglingly complex to use, if you exclude some DeFi operations. But it still has a long way to go before it's accessible to the average person. That said, my mom did ask me to buy her some 'BITCON' recently—and yes, that's a typo, lol.
LISA: I believe there's still a lot of resistance, especially from banks and other institutions who feel threatened by it. But I think that as we see this resistance grow, it's actually a sign that the potential for mainstream adoption is becoming more real. It's still prohibitively complex in many ways, so there's a long road ahead, but that day will come.
ASHLEY: I anticipate a similar pattern to last time: a painful pullback and a Darwinian culling of the flood of copycat projects we see daily. The rate of growth we're seeing is unsustainable, and I'm afraid to say that many new projects we're presented with seem like cheap imitations of what we've seen before. After this cycle, the lessons will be learned, and crypto will likely enter another bear market as everyone goes back to HODL and BUIDL, but as always... the strongest will survive.
LISA: Hopefully, Dogecoin is out of the top 10 by then! Ha.
