Silicon Valley season 5, episode 7 recap: Initial Coin Offering

Silicon Valley tackles a tough question in “Initial Coin Offering”–Series B or cryptocurrency?

This week on Silicon Valley the inevitable topic of cryptocurrency was at the front and center of the episode. In “Initial Coin Offering” the boys are celebrating with Monica over their Series B funding which will give them $30 million! And while this may be a cause for celebration, the boys don’t seem all that into it as they sip ridiculously expensive champagne courtesy of Bream.

The rumors begin buzzing back at the office as the employees of Pied Piper are looking forward to the Series B funding because it means they’ll get big bonuses. Some of them have even started purchasing expensive toys, aka Teslas, as a result. Dinesh is overcome with jealousy when he learns that his Tesla is one model below Danny’s.

In an attempt to beat Danny, Dinesh decides to upgrade his car but learns it will not be available for a few years. The only way to get a better car than Danny is to bring in referrals which will him get him some classy rims via Tesla’s reward program. He sets out to convince the employees to invest in this idea and even offers to pay for one of their monthly payments, unaware that the Series B funding hangs in the balance.

“Initial Coin Offering” is an interesting episode for Jared as we see a side of him like we never really have before–hate. His passive-aggressive behavior towards one of the employees, Holden, is a bomb waiting to erupt as Richard observes Jared’s attitude towards Holden.

Gavin Belson continues to face adversity after he was screwed and betrayed by Yao. He turns his sights to a factory in North Carolina where he plans to manufacture the boxes by using the local townies to do it. He gives the mayor an improbable budget and demands to meet and says that his town will blame him if he fails.

And because of all the budget cuts the mayor has to make, there are no employees within the fire department, sanitation department, or basically any department. So when an unexpected fire burns down the factory, Gavin becomes a victim of karma.

Gilfoyle talks to Richard about cryptocurrency via a Powerpoint presentation to convince him to create Pied Piper Coin to finance PiperNet. This would mean they would not take the Series B funding–which could prove to be disastrous. When they meet with Monica to discuss the idea, she shoots it down because why would you leave $30 million for the unknown?

Next: Silicon Valley season 5, episode 6 recap: Artificial Emotional Intelligence

She sends them to meet with Russ, who was a victim of cryptocurrency gone bad. However, Monica learns that Laurie is planning to screw over Richard and tells Richard not to take the Series B funding. In a crazy turn of events, Monica leaves Laurie Bream to work with Richard in “Initial Coin Offering”.

Unfortunately, we see that Pied Piper Coin is valued at seven cents, which does not bode well for the group at all. And an unexpected phone call from Laurie reveals that while she may be cordial with Monica, she is planning to finance the new Pied Piper. Uh oh.

Silicon Valley airs Sundays at 10/9c on HBO.