Ben McKenzie is going after crypto again, only this time he’s doing it on the big screen.
A trailer has been released for Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, McKenzie’s new anti-crypto documentary that follows the actor and author as he investigates what he sees as an industry built on hype, misinformation, speculation, and flat-out fraud. The film hits select theaters on April 17.
Ben McKenzie takes aim at crypto
McKenzie, known for The O.C. and Gotham, has been one of Hollywood’s loudest critics of cryptocurrency for years. People notes the documentary also works as a follow-up to his 2023 book Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, where he argued much of crypto is either an unregulated security or outright fraud.
The trailer makes his point fast.
“Cryptocurrency. It’s pretty stupid,” McKenzie says at the start, before the footage pivots into celebrity shilling, interviews with industry figures, Senate testimony, scam victims, and major crypto collapses.
The movie’s official synopsis says the documentary traces how crypto became “one of the most aggressively marketed financial products of the modern era” and looks at how warning signs were ignored, dismissed, or hidden from the public.
The trailer goes after the entire culture around crypto
What stands out is that McKenzie isn’t only targeting Bitcoin or one bad actor. The trailer frames the entire crypto ecosystem as a machine fueled by belief, influence, celebrity promotion, and easy money.
It also leans into the broader damage left behind. At one point, the footage includes victims talking about getting scammed. At another, McKenzie calls the crypto industry “the largest Ponzi scheme in history,” echoing remarks he previously made during Senate testimony shown in the trailer.
Gerard Butler even pops up in the trailer with a line made for viral clips: “I made a ton of money on it. But I don’t actually know anything about it.”
Release date and cast
Everyone Is Lying to You for Money opens in select theaters on April 17. The documentary is directed by McKenzie and features Ben McKenzie, Morena Baccarin, Gerard Butler, Alex Mashinsky, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Nayib Bukele.
Watch the trailer:
