Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | March 13, 2026
I never watched The OC growing up. My awareness of Ben McKenzie was largely from watching Gotham, a show I was too committed to in hindsight. So, when this former teen idol with a very hot wife emerged a couple of years back as a staunch critic of cryptocurrency, I was pretty surprised.
It turns out that McKenzie, who has a degree in foreign affairs and economics, is one of the few celebrities who saw the crypto bubble coming and called it out rather than become a paid shill for ugly ape cartoon NFTs. Since then, McKenzie has continued to call out the abject fraud of the crypto world. He testified at a hearing with the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, appeared on CNBC and other shows to discuss the matter, and even written a book on it: Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.
Now, he's headlining a documentary with maybe the best title of the year so far: Everyone is Lying to You for Money.
Based on his book, which he co-wrote with Jacob Silverman, it follows him as he digs into the colourful and cringe world of crypto hype, scams, and political subterfuge. McKenzie is not here to sell you on crypto or pretend that there are two sides to the story. He's very clear in his objective: That this is a lie and you shouldn't put your money into it.
Apparently, Gerard Butler put some money into it, even though he has no idea what crypto is. He's in the trailer admitting that. Yeah, sounds about right for Gerry.
And don't worry. Ben isn't keeping his fight to one documentary. He's teamed up with the folks at More Better Union to share further details on why crypto is legitimately evil. Did you know that Jeffrey Epstein was instrumental to the rise of Bitcoin? It's scumbags all the way down!
It wasn't that long ago that tons of A-List celebrities were showing off ugly profile pics of cartoon apes and talking about how NFTs and crypto were the future and we all had to invest lest we be left behind: Justin Bieber, Reese Witherspoon, Paris Hilton, Jimmy Fallon, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Larry David, Tom Brady... whether or not they actually believed what they were saying, they were happy to take the money and shill for a corrosive cultural force in the name of a few extra dollars. And a lot of people paid the price for it. Many normal people put everything they had into crypto and lost it all. They were taken advantage of because snake oil creeps told them it was a guaranteed win.
Ben McKenzie is one of the only famous people I can think of who said time and time again that this was a lie, that the political powers that be were lying to us all, and that the forces behind trying to turn everything into a speculative market would be destructive. He's dedicated a big chunk of his career to fighting that good fight, which is no mean feat given how many people in the Trump administration are crypto lovers. He doesn't have to do this but he's committed. And that's hot as f*ck. Yes, it's also brave and smart and necessary, but come on, isn't it also extremely sexy? Shine on, Ben. Ruin those crypto bros' days.
Everyone Is Lying to You for Money will open in theaters on April 17th, 2026.
