Actor Confronts Crypto Execs Over Questionable Claims and Ethics

Actor Ben McKenzie, known for his role as Ryan Atwood in teen drama The O.C., made a documentary about cryptocurrency that details its questionable claims and ethics. In Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, McKenzie asks whether those in the industry are acting in the best interests of everyday people they've courted as investors.

McKenzie's multi-year deep dive into the murky world of cryptocurrency includes interviews with a who's who of crypto, including Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX. During their interview, McKenzie asks how much money Bankman-Fried has donated to politicians, resulting in the then-billionaire stumbling for words and his handler ending the interview.

Bankman-Fried was later convicted on seven charges related to fraud and conspiracy, and sentenced to 25 years in U.S. federal prison. The documentary also follows McKenzie as he meets everyday citizens who are being impacted by the fever around cryptocurrency, including residents of La Unión, El Salvador, who are under threat of displacement due to their president's plan to build a so-called Bitcoin City on their land.

McKenzie also lands face-time with Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of trading and lending platform Celsius, ahead of its 2022 demise. During the interview, Mashinsky describes the global crypto exchange as a 'community bank,' which McKenzie points out is not true since it was stated that Celsius was not a bank in fine print published on its website at the time.